Death for forgery plan scrapped
2013-01-18 15:01
Dhaka - The Bangladesh central bank has withdrawn a
proposal to make counterfeiting currency notes a capital offence after
Germany's central bank said it would suspend a plan to help the Bangladeshi
bank because of the death penalty threat.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said a proposal to
impose the death penalty for forgery had been forwarded by a central bank
anti-counterfeiting committee to the government without his knowledge.
"It's unfortunate to send such an inhuman
proposal," Rahman told Reuters, adding that he only learnt of the proposal
on Thursday after Reuters reported that Germany's Bundesbank said it had put on
ice plans to assist the Bangladeshi bank.
Rahman said as soon as he learnt of the death penalty
proposal, he ordered it recalled.
"It went mistakenly without thorough review,"
he said.
The German central bank said it was not aware of the plan
to impose the death penalty for making fake currency when it agreed to the co-operation.
"The Bundesbank thinks that counterfeiting is a
serious offence, but considers the threat of a death penalty as
excessive," it said in a statement, adding that its Bangladeshi project
would be terminated before it started unless the plan to impose the death
penalty was scrapped.
There has been no death penalty in the Federal Republic
of Germany since its founding in 1949.
