The Egyptian postal service announced on Tuesday that it is banning the mailing of money, cheques or other documents used in financial transactions in a bid to curb money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The decision is a regulatory measure taken in compliance with national legislations and aims to organise the process of sending and receiving parcels, said Sherif Farouk, the chief of Egypt’s postal service.
Egypt had previously banned the shipping of Egyptian and foreign currencies as well as bearer negotiable notes through the post.
The decision was published in the official gazette on 23 September.
The Egyptian House of Representatives approved in May new amendments to the anti-money laundering law (80/2002). A report prepared by the House's constitutional and legislative affairs committee said that amendments to the 16-article law are part of a wider effort to crack down on terrorism funding.
"Amendments to laws on anti-terror and terrorist entities were amended and approved by the House last month in a bid to tighten the grip on terrorism funding, and the amendments to the anti-money laundering law serve this objective and go in line with new developments in the area of terrorist crimes over the past 18 years," said the report.
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