MMA to Publicly Disclose Names of Parties Failing to Surrender Foreign Currency

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has said it will publicly disclose the names of parties that fail to surrender foreign currency as required under the Foreign Currency Act. In a press release, the MMA reminded all foreign currency earners to fulfil their surrender obligations. The Foreign Currency Act was amended and the changes were gazetted by the MMA in September this year. Under the amended law, resorts operating in the tourism sector must surrender 40 percent of their monthly foreign currency earnings to a bank established in the Maldives. The MMA said foreign currency earnings for each month must be surrendered before the 28th of the following month. Under the previous rules, the deadline was before the 28th of the third month following the month in which the income was earned. For example, income earned in September previously had to be surrendered by 28 December, but under the new rules it must be surrendered by 28 October. The authority warned that if a party fails to meet the surrender obligation by the deadline, its name will be disclosed in accordance with the established procedure. The MMA has also amended the registration regulations under the Foreign Currency Act. Previously, businesses outside the tourism sector were required to surrender foreign currency only if their annual foreign currency income reached $15 million. This threshold has now been raised to $25 million. The amendments have been included in the general regulations on foreign currency, and the special account used for surrender purposes must now be included during registration.