Controller of Exchange deals firmly against forex racketeers
Sri Lankan foreign exchange racketeers are rampant and find any loopholes in the Exchange Control regulations to overcome their problems. The related authorities of the Exchange Controller unit at the Central Bank have been successful in preventing the colossal loss of foreign exchange by the acts of our Sri Lankan community scattered all over the globe.
The practice of drawing foreign currency via ATM cards by Sri Lankan migrants and international students has been curbed by bringing in stringent techniques preventing the withdrawal of the respective foreign currencies of their choice. This has been made possible through the amended Act No 12 of 2017 introduced two years ago. The Controller of Exchange has instructed all commercial banks to classify all accounts maintained by migrants and international students as CTRA( Capital Transaction Rupee Account) preventing the withdrawal of related Foreign Currencies from ATM’s in overseas countries.
All commercial banks have been instructed to refrain from issuing ATM cards to those CTRA holders. These timely interventions have prevented culprits from foreign currency withdrawal in unparalleled amounts flouting exchange control regulations.
Since creating Act No 12 of 2017 the easy withdrawal of foreign currencies from ATM’s has been stalled. However it is learnt that legitimate deposits like proceeds of interest on deposits, dividend warrants, pensions, etc could be transferred on request to the related accounts in foreign currencies maintained by CTRA holders domiciled overseas.
The writer domiciled in Brisbane, Australia too had encountered this restriction. But on calling the CTRA unit on 0012477255, the problem was resolved when an executive in the CTRA unit explained the manner through which the genuine CTRA holders could navigate in transferring funds credited as monthly interest on deposits sans much of a hassle.
Sunil Thenabadu CTRA holder in Brisbane