THOUSANDS of expatriate workers in tourist resorts in the Maldives have become subject to new restrictions on repatriating foreign currency, introduced to combat ballooning budget deficits spilled over from the regime of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
The restrictions, according to rules enforced in a gazette notification by the Maldivian Monetary Authority (Central Bank) on May 13, permit workers to only remit their contracted salaries and nothing more.
There are more than 25,000 expatriate workers on the 100-odd luxury island resorts across the Maldives.
“What happens to tips that we receive in local currency, and other forms of (income)?” asked one worker on a resort, who declined to be named.
Most banks in the Maldives have begun limiting the release of US currency against the local currency, the rufiya, for repatriation. The move has inevitably affected the local tourism industry, the country’s main foreign exchange earner.
“There is confusion in the industry about how much can be retained by us in US dollars (for our work). There are no clear guidelines,” said a resort owner, who owns about three properties.
“There is also speculation that all the US dollars earned by locally-owned resorts will have to converted to the local currency,” the resort owner added.
