A top central bank official warned on Tuesday that the regulator has begun shutting down unauthorized bureaux de change in Tehran.
The bureaux shut down so far were located near Ferdowsi Square, the center of foreign currency trading in the capital.
The unauthorized bureaux include those operating without a central bank permit or those having received permits from the National Gold and Jewelry Union (NGJU) but the permits have already expired, ISNA reported, citing Hamid Tehranfar, CBI deputy governor for banking supervision.
The Central Bank of Iran is officially in charge of issuing operation license to the bureaux de change.
Earlier this month, the official said that nearly 2,000 bureaux de change that had obtained permits through the NGJU received a notice that their permits should be reconsidered by the CBI.
All in all, 400 of the cases had referred to the CBI and obtained temporary permits so that the police would not inhibit their activities until their official permits were issued.
The CBI by no means intends to unreasonably obstruct the activity of the bureau, the official said. “But if they fail to comply with the new regulations they would have to face the consequences.”
