Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a legislative decree, today, Saturday, to imprisonment for a period of seven years and a fine of twice the value of the payments, for any type of trading or cash repayments, whether by foreign exchange or precious metals.

The decree, which was published on the social media of the Syrian Presidency, amends the sentence by temporary imprisonment with hard labor for a period of no less than seven years and a financial fine equivalent to twice the value of the payments, the amount involved, the payment, services or goods offered.

The punishment in the past was imprisonment from six months to three years and a financial fine equivalent to twice the value of the payments or the amount involved or the payment or the services or goods offered, provided that it is not less than one hundred thousand Syrian pounds or one of these two penalties.

And the decree stipulated that if the amount in use was five thousand dollars or more or its equivalent in other foreign currencies or precious metals, the penalty was temporary hard labor from three to ten years and a financial fine equivalent to twice the value of the payments or the amount in use or paid, provided that Less than one million Syrian pounds.

The Syrian Ministry of the Interior had warned, in a communication, on Friday, against dealing in a currency other than the Syrian pound, in commercial circulation, and vowed to pursue manipulators with exchange rates against foreign currencies.

Through its account on social media, the ministry confirmed the intensification of its patrols to monitor companies, stores and people, in an attempt to suppress the phenomenon and arrest violators, calling on Syrian citizens to cooperate with it, to "combat economic crimes that affect the life of the citizen."

The value of the Syrian pound has deteriorated sharply during the past two months, coinciding with the United States and Western countries imposing a package of economic sanctions on the Syrian government, and the economic crisis in Lebanese banks played a role in the devaluation of the Syrian pound, due to the difficulty of Syrian businessmen withdrawing their money deposited during past years.