Baku, Azerbaijan, July 4
Trend:
Iranian police arrested two gold coin dealers in Tehran, saying that the arrested people were responsible for gold coin price stagnation in the market.
One of the arrested people, who is known as “Gold Coin King,” had purchased two tons of gold coin last fiscal year (March 2017-2018), and was offering them in the market on his favourable price, Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi said, IRNA news agency reported July 4.
The other dealer, who had purchased 1,700 billion worth of gold coins (each USD makes 42,800 rials based on official rate) was arrested two weeks ago in his hideout, Rahimi said.
He added that police have seized 20 kilograms of gold coin and gold from him.
The Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market in recent weeks, continuing its slide amid fears of returning US sanctions after President Donald Trump in May withdrew from a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The US dollar is being offered for as much as 83,000 rials in Iran’s free market, meanwhile the official rate is 42, 800 rials.
Gold coin also was sold at about 30 million rials on July 3.
The fall of the national currency has provoked a public outcry over the quick rise of prices of imported consumer goods.
Earlier in 2012, when the international sanctions against Iran intensified and the national cuurency experienced sharp collapse police closed the capital city's open currency market and arrested up to 100 people, including Gold Coin dealers.