(Trinidad Guardian) The Central Bank of T&T (CBTT) says the decision to suspend the exchange of TT dollar banknotes by the Bank of Jamaica was taken to reduce costs and to prevent the possibility of criminal activities, including money laundering.
Last Friday, the Bank of Jamaica, that country’s central bank, issued an interim notice advising the public that the existing arrangement for the BOJ to repatriate T&T banknotes was currently under review. Jamaica’s central bank also advised that as of last Monday, the exchange of T&T dollars at BOJ’s banking counter was suspended until further advised.
A team from the CBTT, led by Governor Dr Alvin Hilaire was in Kingston, Jamaica last week Thursday and Friday, attending the 61st meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Committee of Central Bank Governors, which was hosted by Bank of Jamaica.
On Monday, the BOJ issued a statement clarifying its interim notice on Friday regarding the suspension of the exchange of T&T dollars at the Bank of Jamaica.
“The bank now wishes to clarify that this is due to the fact that the Central Bank of T&T, to which this currency is repatriated, has suspended the arrangements for the repatriation of T&T dollars until further advised,” said the Jamaican central bank.
Late Wednesday, CBTT issued a response to questions from Guardian Media on the issue.
In the response, the CBTT said its counterpart institutions in the Caribbean region have a long standing arrangement to redeem each other’s currency.
“This means, for example, that the CBTT will periodically send to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ, which is Jamaica’s Central Bank) the Jamaican dollars (J$) the CBTT may have collected over time. In turn, the BOJ will credit the CBTT’s account with the equivalent in US$. This arrangement is reciprocal and has worked well.
“The amounts collected are generally small, related to amounts that Governments may have collected from individuals and companies in court cases, embassies, some taxes etc.
“For the most part, the central banks may make very limited over-the-counter exchanges from the public,” said the Central Bank of T&T.
The institution said these and other currency arrangements were constantly being reviewed and discussed among the staffs of the banking departments of the various central banks.
“This is, among other things, to keep up with new technological developments, streamline operations including towards reducing the costs associated with repatriating banknotes, and staving off potential avenues for money laundering and other criminal activities,” said the Central Bank.
“In this particular case the BOJ and CBTT staff considered that it would be appropriate to have the BOJ suspend its over-the-counter public exchanges of TT$. This is in line with the current CBTT practice of not engaging in such exchanges with the public, either for J$ or any other currency,” T&T’s central bank said.
Late Wednesday, Caribbean Media Corporation quoted a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Finance Minister Colm Imbert that day that the amount traded in T&T dollars in Jamaica “equals only US$4,000 per month.”
In his statement, Imbert took issue with an article in a local newspaper, not the Guardian, “describing that small sum as evidence of a currency crisis.”
“How irresponsible,” the Finance Minister said, adding in a later X message “all this drama over such a small amount of forex (foreign exchange), making a mountain out of a molehill, creating anxiety for no reason.”
