The East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird, has raised concerns in Parliament on Tuesday regarding a shipping container full of PNG Kina notes which was intercepted.
Apparently the ship was on its way to Germany for destruction but was hijacked and stolen somewhere between Indonesia and West Sepik waters.
Governor Bird claimed that these notes are now being sold in Indonesia at a 75% discount.
He raised the alarm after reliably informed by sources that the notes are now selling in Indonesia especially at the border.
He explained that to prevent money laundering in the country, persons with more than K300,000 cannot deposit such amounts into the system.
He asked the Treasurer, Charles Abel, to clarify what steps the Government is taking to prevent such notes from entering our economy.
He also asked the Minister to tell the Parliament on the way forward to protect such incidents in the future.
However, Abel responded saying these are mere speculation that really needs concrete evidence but was interrupted by Governor for Oro.
“Can the good Governor for ESP present tangible evidence of such notes to police and relevant authorities so investigations will commenced,” says Abel.
“These are not mere speculations but facts which were confirmed by the Central Bank,” Juffa interrupted raising a point of order.
Abel responded that he has not been aware of such and will get clarification from the Central Bank.
(File picture)