Home ›› 19 Jan 2023 ›› News
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday said that over 1,000 unauthorised money exchangers transact on an average of Tk 700 crore every day.
CID chief Mohammad Ali Mia made the remark at a press briefing after arresting 14 persons in separate raids at five places in the capital.
“There are 235 licensed money exchange firms in Bangladesh and more than 1,000 illegal money exchangers continue to operate across the country,” he said.
Besides, there are many floating money exchangers who just carry a bag at various locations including Motijheel, Gulshan, Uttara and Airport area, he added.
The CID chief said they arrested 14 people in separate raids at Gulshan, Uttara, Ashkona and Mohammadpur for illegally exchanging foreign currency and seized Tk 1,99,61,376 including foreign currencies of 19 countries equivalent to Tk 1,11,19,826 he said.
During the primary interrogation, the arrested people admitted that each of the illegal money exchange offices illegally buy and sell foreign currency worth about Tk 70-75 lakh on an average per day, he said.
It means the daily transaction at the 1,000 money exchangers stands at Tk 700 crore.
Mohammad Ali said that in recent times, the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war caused instability in the foreign exchange market resulting in skyrocketing prices of daily essential commodities including fuel oil.
Realising the scope, some unscrupulous foreign currency traders in the country are illegally creating an artificial crisis of foreign exchange and hoarding US dollars to make more profit, he said.
The artificial crisis pushed the exchange rate for the US dollar to Tk 123 from Tk 85, he added.
He also said that there were questionable roles of legitimate money exchangers alongside the illegal ones to create a such crisis.
“We have already started an investigation against several illegal money exchangers with the help of the Bangladesh Bank to control the rise of dollar price. And their raid will be continued,” he added.
