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The Bangladesh Bank on Thursday said that the transaction of virtual currencies or crypto-currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin were not legal Bangladesh as they had no approval from the central bank.
“As Bangladesh Bank did not approve the transaction of virtual currencies or crypto-currencies, individuals or institutions are suggested to refrain from transacting such currencies to avoid financial and legal risks,” the Bangladesh Bank said in a press release on Thursday.
The central bank also said its stance on crypto-currencies remain the same which was clarified in a circular issued on December, 24, 2017 saying that as those virtual currencies were not issued by any legal authority, they were not legal tenders and no financial claim was recognised against those. Clients of such virtual currencies will face many risks in transaction as those currencies are not approved and endorsed by payment system regulatory agencies, it added.
The Bangladesh Bank in a recent letter told the Criminal Investigation Department that ownership, protection or transaction of crypto-currency was not a crime.
Shafiul Azam, assistant director Foreign Monetary Policy Division of the Bangladesh Bank, sent the letter to CID. The letter also said that despite ownership, preservation or transaction of crypto-currency was not recognised in the country, it was not a crime.
The central bank in the press release said that as those virtual currencies were not permitted under the Foreign Exchange Control Act 1947, Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2012, their transaction would violate the money laundering act and Anti-Terrorism Act.
