Police stated last night that two expatriates have been detained for engaging in illegal dollar trading. The two are accused of unauthorized dollar purchases and selling them on at inflated rates in the black market. 

The two Bangladeshi nationals were taken into Immigration custody following a joint Police and Immigration operation based on information received via the dedicated hotline, Police said. 

Police disclosed that the two individuals are MD Masud Ahmed and Abu Thahir.

Masud was taken into custody last Friday, while Abu Thahir was detained yesterday, according to Police. 

The matter remains under investigation, Police said, adding that action to be taken against the two will be decided based on the findings of the investigation. 

The government is taking several measures to shut down the dollar black market. 

As part of these efforts, the Foreign Currency Act has been amended stipulating resorts to exchange 40 percent of their revenue through local banks every month. 

Police also set up a hotline, appealing to the public to report any cases of illegal dollar trading.

Through this crackdown, Police have recently arrested six expatriates accused of being engaged in unauthorized dollar trading. At the time, Police said that all these individuals were engaging in black market dollar trading, which is clearly outside the boundaries of their work permits.

The investigation so far has uncovered that MVR 54.4 million and USD 1.6 million has been circulated through the bank accounts of these six individuals over the past three years, Police revealed.