There are numerous frauds in the provision of banking services and tax evasion by banks’ managers in Turkmenistan. In particular, the banks “Turkmenbashi”, “Daikhanbank”, “Halkbank”, “Turkmenistan”, “Garagum” are involved in fraud. They convert the currency not at the state rate of 3.50 manats per $1, but at the rate of 5 manats per $1.
Banks deceive their clients, saying that supposedly foreign banks take 30% of the convertible amount when converting manats into dollars and then sending the currency abroad. Banks’ clients have to pay almost $50 to send $100 to their children who study abroad. At the same time, the banks and Western Union branches in these banks don’t issue cash vouchers to clients, but only provide a terminal check. Also, when paying with a bank card for services provided by the bank, an additional small amount of money (10-15 manats) is charged, what the client finds out via SMS or doesn’t know at all.
ACCA sources also faced with these problems in banks: bank’s employees don’t issue bank documents on the amounts of payments; instead, memorial orders are issued in one copy and these orders are not official bank documents, they don’t have a bank stamp, signatures of an accountant and a cashier. Also, bank employees extort money from clients.
There is very little cash in the cash terminals in the country, so bank employees withdraw cash to citizens for a fee.
For example, in Turkmenbashi bank in Ashgabat’s branch, director Gochmuradov Gurbanmurat leads all the frauds, and he is patronized by the chairman of the board of Turkmenbashi bank. According to our sources, the illegal operations, which are carried out by the heads of the banks, bypassing the Tax Service and in the interests of personal enrichment, bring the directors of these banks multimillion-dollar incomes.
All this is happening despite the recent arrest of the director of the branch of the bank “Turkmenistan” in the city of Turkmenbashi. The Commission, which was inspecting this branch, revealed huge shortages and facts of abuse by the bank employees.
