The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago has moved to clarify the legal position on exporting US currency, following media reports of an ongoing investigation into a shipment of US dollars that was reportedly set to leave the country.
In a statement issued Saturday, the Bank said it needed to tread carefully given the active investigation, but acknowledged that the public has legitimate questions about USD exports, particularly at a time when demand for foreign exchange locally is outpacing supply and not all requests for FX are being met.
Addressing the central question of whether exporting US dollars is even legal, the Bank explained that authorised dealers, banks and non-bank institutions licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, 2008 are permitted under the Exchange Control Act to export currency notes that are, or have ever been, legal tender either in Trinidad and Tobago or elsewhere. Such exports and imports happen routinely between authorised dealers as part of normal operations. Importantly, the Bank noted that when a shipment of US cash is matched by an equivalent credit wired back into Trinidad and Tobago and sold on the local market, there is no actual net export of currency taking place.
The Bank was careful to stress that this legal clarification does not touch on whatever specific matters investigators may be looking into, and said it would refrain from commenting further in ways that could compromise those investigations. It added that it continues to cooperate with the relevant agencies as the matter proceeds.
On the broader foreign exchange picture, the Bank reported that it has kept the country’s Official Foreign Exchange Reserve position stable over the past year, despite injecting US$1.2 billion into the market to support authorised dealers’ trading books. A further US$900 million has gone toward supporting state enterprises and the Exim Bank, which in turn assists small and medium manufacturers and helps fund essential imports. As of the end of June 2026, reserves stood at six months of import cover.
Looking ahead, the Bank acknowledged that parts of the foreign exchange system need strengthening and said several initiatives are in the pipeline, chief among them an update to the Exchange Control Act. The revised legislation, expected to be renamed the Foreign Exchange Act, would clarify rules around currency dealings, tighten reporting requirements for authorised dealers, and strengthen oversight of cross-border cash shipments.
The Bank said it is committed to working with the Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders to push the legislative changes through, closing existing gaps in the current framework. The Governor noted that the reforms are considered necessary to address foreign exchange challenges the country has been grappling with in the short to medium term.