Governor Ismaili warns criminal prosecution for those who trade with dinar

Criminal prosecution for those who pay with Serbian dinar has warned Central Bank Governor Ahmet Ismaili. In an interview for Kosovapress, he has said that to increase financial involvement in the north, the CEC has taken measures and that currently 34 banking and non-bank institutions operate in this part
Central Bank Governor Ahmet Ismaili has stressed on Saturday that even in northern Kosovo, payment in other currency cannot be legally carried out, except in euros.

In an interview for Kosovapress, he has said there will be no exceptions to the dinar, and that without Kosovo's permission, neither can the Serbian currency be transported into the border.

For us this is considered a closed issue. With the new regulation in place, transactions from unlicensed institutions cannot be carried out and there can be no crossing of the border of any currency without the CEC's permission. So nobody can carry cash. And of course it's only the euro. The Central Bank is not monitoring with field inspectors in private transactions, but in terms of the financial sector, there is only one currency, payment tool is only the euro”, Governor Ismaili said.

He has warned citizens who pay with illegal currency that they can be prosecuted.
Let's not forget that paying payments with illegal currency, whether it's dinar or otherwise, expose it to nonrecognition. So it's not legally valid, there's no legal protection for it, and as a result, it could constitute the element for prosecution”, Ismaili said.

The governor has stressed that Serbia has not expressed interest in communication, even after the CEC has adopted the new regulation. He has said that since then, the institution he heads has taken measures for financial involvement in the north to increase.

We already have 34 institutions, banks and non-banks, operating in the north. We also have a new bank branch in Leposaviq. So the idea is that from operating with illegal institutions, and that have exposed to the risks of citizens themselves, there are alternatives to legal institutions and financial institutions in the north. We are committed to accessing finance to all citizens, and there to be treated the same as everyone else, Ismaili said.

Following the adoption of the new BEC regulation, on February 1st the Serbian dinar has been banned for conducting payments.

The regulation, envisioning the euro as the only currency for handling payments, has been strongly opposed by Serbia.