KULOB, February 13, Asia-Plus  -- A money-transfer office of Tojiksodirotbonk (TSB) opened in the village of Kangurt, Khatlon’s Temourmalik district in October 2007 has been closed.  

Abduaziz Abduhalimov, who works as teller with this money-transfer office, told Asia-Pus that Ms. Malika Shukurova, the chairperson of the Temourmalik district, arrived in the village on February 8 and ordered to close the office because it had been opened “without coordination with her.”    

According to Abduhalimov, more than $27,000 have been remitted by labor migrants from Russian to their office since October.   

Abdukarim Nematov, the head of the TSB branch in Kulob, said that the money-transfer office in Kangurt had been opened in the line with president’s instruction to improve work of banks in the provinces and in accordance with the country’s law on banks and bank activity.  “Therefore, it is not needed to coordinate opening of such office with local authorities,” said Nematov, “Moreover, we have occupied derelict building of local village hospital, which has not been used for a long time, repaired it on our own and provided with office equipment.”  

He stressed that such offices had also been opened in the villages of Ziraki in Kulob and Rahmonberdi in Vose as well as administrative centers of Mouminobod and Vose districts.  It is to be noted that opening of all these offices has not been coordinated with local authorities,” Nematov said.