Alwaght- Qatar is probing attempts to harm the Qatari economy through the manipulation of its currency, securities and derivatives markets.
Sheikh Abdulla bin Saud Al Thani, the governor of Qatar's central bank, blamed the effort on a Saudi-led group of countries that imposed an economic boycott on Qatar in June.
"We know blockading countries and their agents are attempting to manipulate and undermine our currency, securities and derivatives, as part of a coordinated strategy to damage Qatar's economy," Sheikh Abdulla said in a statement on Tuesday.
The central bank has hired a New York-based law firm to lead the investigation, Sheikh Abdulla said, adding: "We will not stand by while our country is attacked in this manner."
In November, US-based investigative news website, the Intercept, revealed an alleged plot by the UAE to weaken Qatar's currency and strip the country of its role as host of the World Football Cup in 2022.
Citing documents found in an email account belonging to UAE's ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, the Intercept said a Luxembourg-based private bank drew up a scheme to "drive down the value of Qatar's bonds and increase the cost of insuring them, with the ultimate goal of creating a currency crisis that would drain the country's cash reserves".
There was no conclusive evidence that the plan was executed, the Intercept reported.
Early June, Saudi-led regimes severed relations with Qatar and imposed a blockade against it, accusing Doha of funding "extremism". Qatar has vehemently rejected the allegations as "baseless".
On June 22, the block, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera TV, limiting ties with Iran, and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country as a prerequisite to lifting the blockade.
Qatar rejected all the demands, denouncing them as attempts to violate its sovereignty.
