Foreign Exchange Bill deprives Parliament of power: Bandula

By S.S. Selvanayagam

One of the Joint Opposition Parliamentarians has lamented that the Bill titled ‘Foreign Exchange’ deprives and abrogates the power of Parliament to have full control over the public’s finances.

Parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardane last week filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the impugned Bill which is an Act to provide for the promotion and regulation of foreign exchange, to vest the responsibility for providing and regulating foreign exchange in the Central Bank; to provide for the repeal of the Exchange Control Act.

He bemoans that the said Bill deprives and abrogates the powers and duties of the Central Bank and the Monetary Board to supervise, regulate and control matters in relation to foreign exchange including gold, currency, payments, securities, debts and import, export, transfer and the settlement of property.

He charges that the Bill presents the Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers with the authority to be in charge of and thereby to regulate and control affairs and matters in relation to foreign exchange and all institutions authorised to act as dealers or otherwise, dealing with foreign exchange.

He states the Bill brings the statutory duties and powers of the Central Bank and the Monetary Board subject under the control of the Minister.

He asserts the Bill shall pave the way for money laundering and the unethical transfer and utilisation of foreign exchange against both the international norms/law and domestic law against money laundering and shall place the national security and the economy in serious danger.

The impugned Bill raises criminal liability with retrospective effect from persons who have already engaged in illegal transactions involving foreign exchange by violating the provisions of the Exchange Control Act, he says.

It would create an investigation and inquiry procedure that could be conveniently influenced and face interference from the Minister and shall place the independence and impartiality of such a procedure under suspicion, he states.

He hopes that the entire Bill or any one or more of the clause or sections thereof cannot become law unless passed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and is approved by the people through a referendum.