March 17, 2023, 4:15 PM
March 17, 2023, 4:15 PM
In an operation carried out in the city of La Paz, the Police, together with the Vice Ministry of Consumer Defense, arrested a free trader for sell the dollar above the quote official which is Bs 6.96 per currency. The woman sold foreign currency at Bs 7.4.
This is the first person arrested after the authorities warned against prosecuting those who are speculating on the value of the currency for agio and financial crimes. For three weeks there has been an unusual demand for dollarswhich made the price on the streets higher than that established since 2011.
The Central Bank of Bolivia (BCB), the Financial System Supervision Authority (ASFI) and the Ministry of Economy indicated that this unusual requirement was driven by speculation circulating on social media and the opinion of economic analysts, who for months have been observing the country’s economic policy and the reduction of the Net International Reserves (NIR).
In this context, the Vice Minister of Consumer Defense, Jorge Silva, reported that the arrest of this person was made after receiving several complaints made by people looking for currency, both in banks and in exchange houses. Even revealed that they received up to 20 complaints.
The government has already indicated that the official exchange rate will not move from Bs 6.96that is, there will not be an increase… What is happening is that people who are dedicated to this activity are lining up, they are buying at 6.96 and they are reselling at more than 7 bolivianos, that is agio, that is speculation,” Silva said.
The authority asked the population to denounce these irregular acts and to the free traders, to put it as a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for attacking the economy of the country and the rights of the population.
