Egypt cracks down on Syrian businesses allegedly tied to Brotherhood
Egypt is going after certain Syrian businesses that have flourished, citing national security.
CAIRO — The Egyptian government has begun taking measures to monitor the commercial activity of Syrians in Egypt out of fear that some businesses are being used to fund the Muslim Brotherhood. The measures include not approving any commercial activity for Syrian nationals except with permission from the security authorities, as well as monitoring Syrian account activities and financial transactions in Egyptian banks.
The Ministry of Local Development had sent out a memorandum — a copy of which was obtained by Al-Monitor — to governorates Aug. 11 asking them to assess shops owned by members of the Syrian refugee community in Egypt. “Some people have opened a series of stores within short periods despite suffering from poor financial resources when they first came to Egypt," the memo read. It also said Syrians had bought "commercial stores in important locations using large amounts of unknown sources.”
