Lebanon’s head of exchange dealers arrested over USD manipulation

Lebanese Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim announced on Friday that Lebanese authorities have detained head of the exchange dealers syndicate Mahmoud Mrad for being accused of manipulating the price of the U.S. dollar in the parallel market, local media reported.

Ibrahim said he had strong evidence against Mrad and other traders over their involvement in causing the dollar exchange rate to increase to illogical levels against the Lebanese pound, according to Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.

The drop in U.S. reserves at the central bank in the past few months prompted people to increase their demand on the U.S. currency which allowed exchange shops to take advantage of the situation and increase its price in the parallel market.

The price of the U.S. dollar surpassed 4,000 Lebanese pounds per one dollar in the parallel market while the official rate at banks stands at 1,507. Enditem