$10 mn stolen from Syrian bank

Amman, Jan 31 (IANS) About $10 million were stolen from a vault of the Damascus-based International Bank for Trade and Finance (IBTF), a Jordanian bank said Thursday.

Jordan’s Housing Bank for Trade and Finance owns 49 percent in the IBTF, Xinhua reported.

According to a disclosure on the website of the Amman Stock Exchange, the bank said around $3.4 million, 4.7 million euros and 33 million Syrian pounds were robbed from the bank in Syria Jan 17.

In the statement, the Jordanian bank said management of the Syrian bank discovered the theft Jan 20 and reported it to the security authorities and insurance.

Meanwhile, the Syrian bank said the head of the vault was involved in the theft along with other people who do not work at the bank.

It said the theft did not affect the bank’s financial position and liquidity and stressed that the deposits were not affected at all.

It said all measures were being taken to get back the money in coordination with the special authorities.

IANS 2013-01-31 23:42:07