‘US dollar hoarders will face stern action’

Punitive actions will be taken against people who have hoarded US dollars illegally, the Bangladesh Bank said today.

The hoarders will have to sell the dollar to either banks or money changers by September 30, or else strict legal action will be taken against them, according to a Bangladesh Bank press release.

It said that a non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) is allowed to bring any amount of money when the person comes back to the country.

A single NRB will keep a maximum of $10,000 or equivalent amount of other foreign currencies with him or her during staying in the country.

The amount can be brought back to the foreign nations when an NRB goes there.

But the NRBs have to sell the excess amount of $10,000 to either banks or money changers within a month after coming to Bangladesh.

Legal action will be taken against the NRBs if they keep excess amount of foreign currency than the legal limit.

A Bangladesh Bank official said the country's financial sector has started to face shortage of cash dollar once again.

Travelers had purchased each dollar for up to Tk 120 nearly one month ago from the open market after which BB took a set of measures to restore stability in the open market.

The exchange rate of the taka against the US dollar hovered around Tk 108 per dollar for the time in first three weeks of August.

But the rate has commenced to increase once again as the outbound individuals today purchased each dollar for Tk 112.