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Draft BB bill near ready
Fake currency makers to face death
. Kazi Zahidul Hasan
http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=61234
A law recommending a maximum penalty of death for production and circulation of counterfeit currency notes is now on anvil, official sources said.
The draft bill for the proposed legislation, prepared by the Bangladesh Bank (BB), is now being given a finishing touch. * **
The initiative to prescribe capital punishment against circulation of counterfeit currency notes came in the wake of unprecedented rise in the crime.*
BB in the past one year has to go out of the way to put full page colour advertisements on newspapers against fake currency notes of Tk 500, Tk 100 and even Tk 50 denominations to create awareness among the people.
"After its finalisation the draft bill, it will be forwarded to the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs for vetting," Dasgupta Ashim Kumar, Executive Director of BB told The New Nation on Monday. *
He added: "The draft bill has already been vetted by the law department of the central bank and BB will send it to the concern ministry by the first week of January 2013." * *
Ashim also said that BB has prepared the draft naming "Fake Note Prevention Act" proposing death sentence as the highest punishment for the convicts who may be found to have been engaged in currency counterfeiting.
"Persons convicted with fake currency related crimes would be punished with rigorous imprisonment plus fines and a maximum of death sentence," he added.
Ashim, who is also the convener of the National Committee on protecting counterfeit currency in circulation, said the central bank has prepared the draft as per the recommendation of the committee. *
Earlier, the Committee has proposed the government for enacting a separate law in the wake of alarming rise of fake currency notes in the market.
'The members of the body at a meeting recently unanimously made the suggestion for formulation of a new law aiming at dealing with the cases of currency related forgery and to ensure their speedy trial," Ashim said.
He added that formulation of a new law was necessary as there were various loopholes in the existing law. "Culprits who are engaging in such crimes are reportedly coming out from the detention due to lack of a stringent law," he noted.
The BB high official said, prevention of fake currency in circulation remains a big challenge, as there are so many loopholes in the existing laws.
Besides, hundreds of cases remain pending for years and many accused persons are obtaining bails easily taking advantage of ambiguities in the laws.
"Even criminals caught red handed by the law enforcers in connection of currency counterfeiting are getting acquitted from the cases for weakness of the law and due to lack of proper evidence and witnesses," he added with a note of frustration. *
"We tried to reduce all inconsistencies in the draft bill and all the provisions of punishment and nature of the crime have been well defined there, he noted.*
Some 5,500 cases related to counterfeit currency have been lodged with different police stations across the country since 1998. Of which, only 334 cases were disposed in the past decade.
Considering the exiting complexities related to counterfeit currency cases a new law naming "Fake Note Prevention Act" should be adapted replacing the existing one, the BB official said.
"Once the law will be enacted it will ensure speedy trial of the cases and punishment of the culprits, he added.
Fake currency makers to face death
. Kazi Zahidul Hasan
http://thenewnationbd.com/newsdetails.aspx?newsid=61234
A law recommending a maximum penalty of death for production and circulation of counterfeit currency notes is now on anvil, official sources said.
The draft bill for the proposed legislation, prepared by the Bangladesh Bank (BB), is now being given a finishing touch. * **
The initiative to prescribe capital punishment against circulation of counterfeit currency notes came in the wake of unprecedented rise in the crime.*
BB in the past one year has to go out of the way to put full page colour advertisements on newspapers against fake currency notes of Tk 500, Tk 100 and even Tk 50 denominations to create awareness among the people.
"After its finalisation the draft bill, it will be forwarded to the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs for vetting," Dasgupta Ashim Kumar, Executive Director of BB told The New Nation on Monday. *
He added: "The draft bill has already been vetted by the law department of the central bank and BB will send it to the concern ministry by the first week of January 2013." * *
Ashim also said that BB has prepared the draft naming "Fake Note Prevention Act" proposing death sentence as the highest punishment for the convicts who may be found to have been engaged in currency counterfeiting.
"Persons convicted with fake currency related crimes would be punished with rigorous imprisonment plus fines and a maximum of death sentence," he added.
Ashim, who is also the convener of the National Committee on protecting counterfeit currency in circulation, said the central bank has prepared the draft as per the recommendation of the committee. *
Earlier, the Committee has proposed the government for enacting a separate law in the wake of alarming rise of fake currency notes in the market.
'The members of the body at a meeting recently unanimously made the suggestion for formulation of a new law aiming at dealing with the cases of currency related forgery and to ensure their speedy trial," Ashim said.
He added that formulation of a new law was necessary as there were various loopholes in the existing law. "Culprits who are engaging in such crimes are reportedly coming out from the detention due to lack of a stringent law," he noted.
The BB high official said, prevention of fake currency in circulation remains a big challenge, as there are so many loopholes in the existing laws.
Besides, hundreds of cases remain pending for years and many accused persons are obtaining bails easily taking advantage of ambiguities in the laws.
"Even criminals caught red handed by the law enforcers in connection of currency counterfeiting are getting acquitted from the cases for weakness of the law and due to lack of proper evidence and witnesses," he added with a note of frustration. *
"We tried to reduce all inconsistencies in the draft bill and all the provisions of punishment and nature of the crime have been well defined there, he noted.*
Some 5,500 cases related to counterfeit currency have been lodged with different police stations across the country since 1998. Of which, only 334 cases were disposed in the past decade.
Considering the exiting complexities related to counterfeit currency cases a new law naming "Fake Note Prevention Act" should be adapted replacing the existing one, the BB official said.
"Once the law will be enacted it will ensure speedy trial of the cases and punishment of the culprits, he added.
