BB Warns Expatriates against Using Illegal Remittance Channels

Bangladesh Bank has urged expatriates to send money through the banks, reminding them of legal consequences for using illegal means to conduct cross-border transactions.

“Please contribute to nation-building efforts and keep your loved ones safe and free from risks,” the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said sending money through so-called Hundi, an unauthorised channel, is a punishable offence and it causes loss to the country.

The statement also said Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit was taking legal action against everyone involved with illegal channels of remitting funds.

Inward remittances hit record high during the coronavirus pandemic despite fears of expatriate Bangladeshis losing their income.

Experts believe the illegal channels were closed during the pandemic, forcing the expatriates to use the banking channel, which led to the rise in remittances.

Remittances started to decrease afterwards. Besides the fall in remittances, a rise in import costs and slump in exports have worsened the country’s dollar shortage, prompting the government and the central bank to take a series of measures to improve the situation.

To tackle a worsening global economic crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war amid the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh needs to prioritise ways to increase remittances, along with food production, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet agreed on Monday.

Bangladesh Bank has asked banks to stop taking fees from expatriate Bangladeshis for sending money, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said._Agencies