Sri Lankan parliament appeals to Maldives on behalf of their State Minister to aid their civilians employed in Maldives to send earned money home without the use of remittance channels such as Hawala/Undiyal, outside the traditional banking systems.
Parliament members of Sr Lanka have appealed to the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry to find a solution for the use of Hawala or Undiyal channel to send remittances home, as opposed to the use of Maldivian banking system in Maldives, due to the dollar limit established by the banks.
Newspapers in Sri Lanka reported that the members of the supreme legislative body of Sri Lanka (The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) had requested on behalf of their State Minister Shehan Semasinghe to aid their workers through either the Commercial Bank or Bank of Ceylon established in the Maldives.
A Sri Lankan legislator, Weerasumana Weerasinghe said that despite some Sri Lankan expatriates in high positions earning $1000-$3000 a month in Maldives, they are only able to send home a remittance between $250-$300.
“While Commercial Bank allows a limit of $300, Bank of Ceylon is allowing $250. Hence, employees have no choice but to rely on systems outside the bank [such as Hawala] to send remittance. We urge the Maldivian government to aid our workers in this matter,” he said.
The State Minister, Semasinghe had assured his people that he will look into the troubles faced by them in sending remittance to their country from within the Maldives.
The current forex shortage has derailed the Sri Lankan expatriates in Maldives from sending money. Moreover, the black market is now exchanging dollars at a rate between MVR 18.20 and MVR 18.30, exhibiting an increase in comparison to the standard conversion rate of MVR 15.42.
Hawala and Undiyal are informal channels of fund transfers without any currency actually moving. These networks have been used by expatriates in various countries for easier transfer of funds, as it does not involve formal banking processes. The process is anonymous, and based on trust rather than official documentation.
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