PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – TheCentral Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) says the decision to suspend the exchange of Trinidad and Tobago dollar banknotes by the Bank of Jamaica was taken to reduce costs and to prevent the possibility of criminal activities, including money laundering.
The CBTT, in response to questions from the Trinidad Guardian newspaper on the issue, said that 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$) the CBTT may have collected over time. The BOJ will credit the CBTT’s account with the equivalent in US$. This arrangement is reciprocal and has worked well,” the CBTT said.
“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 minimal over-the-counter exchanges from the public,” said the CBTT.
It said that these and other currency arrangements were constantly being reviewed and discussed among the staff of the banking departments of the various central banks.
“This is, among other things, to keep up with new technological developments and streamline operations, including reducing the costs associated with repatriating banknotes and staving off potential avenues for money laundering and other criminal activities.
“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,” the CBTT added.
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Colm Imbert acknowledged that the decision by the BOJ to temporarily suspend the exchange of local currency at its banking counter was “to review its arrangements” with the CBTT.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Imbert said that the amount traded in Trinidad and Tobago dollars in Jamaica “equals only US$4,000 per month”.
In his statement, Imbert took issue with a local newspaper, which he said published an article Wednesday “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.”
The BOJ had said that as of November 6, the exchange of Trinidad and Tobago dollars at its banking counter is suspended until further advised. The BOJ, also the country’s central bank, gave no specific reason for the review and that this temporary suspension will remain in effect until further notice.
But it said that the suspension is because the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, to which this currency is repatriated, has suspended the arrangements for repatriating T&T dollars until further advised.
“Bank of Jamaica will advise of further developments,” the statement added.
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