Police detectives warn of legal actions against stockpiling of US dollars amid crisis

The detectives will also keep an eye out for the printing of counterfeit dollars

The Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has warned that anyone stockpiling US dollars amid a crisis of the currency will face the full wrath of the law.

DMP Additional Police Commissioner (detective) Md Harun-or-Rashid on Thursday said: “Those who stockpile dollars at a time when the dollar prices are rising will face legal actions.”

On Wednesday, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said “fraudulent” imports were contributing to the abnormal rise in dollar prices and that the government was using “all the tools available” to prevent such acts.

DB chief Harun said they were also monitoring whether counterfeit bills were being printed. “We’ll carry out operations if we receive information about people stockpiling dollars or [location of] equipment or machine to print fake dollars.”

The war between Ukraine and Russia has caused dollar prices to soar, peaking at Tk 111 on Tuesday before returning to Tk 108 on Wednesday.

Bangladesh Bank officials and some members of other government offices inspected money exchange agencies on Wednesday to investigate the spike.

SACKED POLICEMAN, BANK STAFF TIED TO COUNTERFEIT BILLS

Harun advised everyone to be cautious after receiving reports that corrupt officials were aiding the supply of counterfeit bills into banks.

The DB arrested former sub-inspector Humayun Kabir, 48, on Wednesday in his home at Mohammadpur and seized counterfeit Tk 1000 bills amounting to Tk 1.6 million, a laptop, a printer, a lamination machine, foil paper rolls and papers for printing bills, among other printing materials.

Humayun confessed to the crime, Harun said, adding that he leads such traders to deposit the fake notes when the banks are crowded during Eid and other celebrations with the aid of dishonest clerks.

The ring is most active in Keraninganj, Narayanganj and Tongi areas, the DB chief said. “Humayun has quite a few agents. They supply counterfeit bills in different marketplaces along with banks.”

Detectives will interrogate Humayun, who had been arrested before on similar charges, to try and identify which officials from which banks are linked to him and how these bills are being smuggled abroad, Harun said.

“We'll not go easy on anyone in this case. We'll bring anyone who wants to become rich illegally to justice.”

The arrestee had been planning to supply Tk 6 million counterfeit money during Durga Puja in September, Harun said.

Detectives dug up names of Imam Hossain, 30, Md Alauddin, 35, Md Saiful, 30, Md Mojibor, 32, and Alauddin, 42, with ties to Humayun and are on the hunt.