HUNDI : Demand and Supply (Paperback)

The laundering of money to the outside of the country is a major issue of promoting hundi in our country. The expatriates are in the supply side, on the other hand, international trading houses and corrupt persons in different professions are in the demand side of foreign currency in Bangladesh. The corporate vehicles and their beneficial owners are other stakeholders in the hundi transaction as well as corruption in Bangladesh. The demand of foreign currency in the hundi market increases with the increase of corruption in the country. Corrupt persons became important stakeholders in the hundi market. In 1974, Wage Earners' Scheme (WES) was initiated to help the Non-resident Bangladeshis remit their earnings home through legal channels but the unique process to give fair available optimum price of foreign currency was given through wage earner's scheme (WES). Wage earners or their authorized person could sell the foreign exchange to bank, government, importers or others for payment in cross border transactions. The price was determined through negotiation. It was initiated to help the Non- resident Bangladeshis remit their earnings home through legal channels and to get optimum price but subsequently, WES has been discontinued and the central bank fixed different rates for purchase of foreign currency by banks from the remitters. This has increased the availability of foreign currency in hundi market laundering to other countries.