DUSHANBE (Asia-Plus) – A special joint commission formed of representatives of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the Interior Ministry, the State Committee for National Security and the National bank of Tajikistan has been set up in Tajikistan to combat currency speculation, according to the Prosecutor-General’s Office press centre.

Raids made this Monday across the country revealed 192 cases of foreign currency speculation. Many currency-exchange points do not respect the exchange rate set by Tajik central bank for the dollar at 1:6.30, says a statement released by the Prosecutor-General’s Office press centre.

Moreover, many currency-exchange points in Dushanbe have stopped selling U.S. dollars or demand 650-660 somoni for 100 U.S. dollars, the statement notes. Two persons were arrested for illicit currency outflows in one operation alone and 65,000 U.S. dollars were confiscated from them, the Prosecutor-General’s Office press centre said.