The Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone, Professor Kelfala Morana Kallon has with immediate effect temporarily banned the travelling/holding of foreign currency in excess of USD$10,000 or its equivalent outside the banking system.

The prohibition also includes Offshore Trading of Foreign Exchange by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Quoting of Prices and Making Payments in foreign currency.

This restriction, which seeks to provide short term measure, was slammed pursuant to Section 48 (3) of the Bank of Sierra Leone Act that empowers the Central Bank to “temporarily” restrict the purchase, sale, holding or transfer of foreign exchange.

This simply means with immediate effect, no individual, business entity or organization in Sierra Leone should hold more than USD$10,000 or its equivalent in any foreign currency or collection of currencies outside the banking system, except otherwise expressly approved by the Governor or permitted by any existing status or International treaties to which Sierra Leone is a signatory.

Nobody should travel or attempt to travel out of the country with foreign currency in excess of the prescribed limit for anyone found attempting to travel out of the country with excess foreign currencies will be forfeitured to the Bank.

Hencefoirth, foreign exchange bureaus operating in the country must deposit all foreign currencies in their possession above the prescribed limit into a Commercial Bank account by 1PM of each business day and that they must submit daily returns of their foreign exchange transactions (purchases and sales) to the Bank of Sierra Leone. Underreporting or misreporting of foreign exchange transaction to the Central Bank will result in revocation of license.

Similarly, anyone entering the country with foreign currencies in excess of the prescribed limit must deposit that excess in a Commercial Bank or other licensed financial institutions with three business days

With immediate effect, NGOs and respective donors should desist from the practice of offshore trading of foreign exchange resources as all remittance to NGOs should now be channelled directly through their accounts in banks operating in the country. Adittionally, quoting prices, making and /receiving payments for transaction undertaken in Sierra Leone ( including but not limited to transaction involving rental contracts, professional services, hotel-room etc should henceforth be done in Leones .

According to the Governor, any violation of these restrictions is punishable by a fine of Le100M or an imprisonment for a term not less than 3 years or both as embedded in Section 26 (5) of the said Act.

The Governor has also offered 5% compensation of the confiscated monies for anyone who provides information leading to a discovery. The declaration was made by the Governor at the Bank’s press briefing yesterday August 20 2019 at its Conference Hall on Gloucester Street in Freetown.