Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday banned hoarding of the Sudanese pound and speculation on the currency after anti-government protesters clashed with security forces on Thursday.
According to the new rules announced by the Bashir led government, individuals are not allowed to store more than 1 million Sudanese pounds ($21,000) outside the banking system, while entities, are banned from storing more than 5 million Sudanese pounds and are not allowed to store amounts that are not commensurate with the scale of (their) activity, reported Reuters.
The government’s order has also banned the counterfeiting of any currencies, as well as the possession, transportation or storage of counterfeit currencies and any tools used to produce counterfeit currencies. Goods and services providers are banned from accepting payments via bank cards or cheques. Notably, any violators of the decree, in addition to punishments in any other breached laws, would face a fine as well as a minimum of six months in prison and a maximum of 10 years.
The Sudanese President had initially announced that any violations to the state of emergency, especially any act of participating in banned rallies, were punishable with a jail term of up to 10 years. But, on Thursday he issued an order declaring that the maximum jail term for such violation has been reduced to six months.
In a separate order, Bashir appointed Ahmed Harun, the acting chief of his ruling National Congress Party, as a presidential aide. He also transferred his powers as chief of the NCP to Harun, his deputy in the party.
The people of Sudan have been protesting since last three months calling on Bashir to step down. Last month, Bashir declared a state of emergency and dissolved the central government. He also replaced state governors with security officials, expanded police powers and banned unlicensed public gatherings in order to curb public protests.
