• Chapter Three Chapter Three Currency Issue

    • Article 19

      The standard unit of currency in the State of Bahrain is the dinar which is divided into 1000 (one thousand) fils.

    • Article 20

      (a) The Agency shall have the exclusive right of issuing currency notes and coins in the State of Bahrain, and no other person shall have the right to issue currency notes, paper money, coins, or bills or warrants payable to bearer upon demand that have the appearance of currency or may be construed as currency.
      (b) Every violator of the provisions of this Article shall be punished by the penalties prescribed in the laws of the State for forgoing or counterfeiting currency notes or coins.

    • Article 21

      (a) The Agency shall take necessary action for printing currency notes and minting coins and shall be in charge of all related matters. It shall make the necessary arrangements for the storage of stocks of unissued currency, for safekeeping the dies and plates of issued currency and for the destruction of such dies and plates when they are no longer needed.
      (b) Currency to be issued by the Agency shall be in the denominations, forms, specifications and designs approved by the Minister of Finance on the recommendation of the Agency.
      (c) Descriptions of the currency issued by the Agency shall be published in the Official Gazette.

    • Article 22

      The currency notes issued by the Agency shall be legal tender in the State of Bahrain without limitation of amount. Coins shall be legal tender for a maximum amount of one dinar.

      The Monetary Agency shall be under obligation to accept them without any limitation of amount.

    • Article 23

      The Agency shall have the right, after giving notice to this effect in the Official Gazette, to withdraw from circulation, against payment of the face value, any currency it has issued. In this case and subject to the conditions set in the notice, such currency shall cease to be considered legal tender However, a holder of such currency may, within any period of grace of not less than one year, claim from the Agency payment of the value of such currency in accordance with such regulations as it may issue. After expiration of the period of grace fixed in the notice, the currency notes that have not been redeemed shall cease to be considered legal tender.

    • Article 24

      The Agency shall issue or re-issue currency and redeem such currency without collecting any commission. However, in case currency in the required denominations is not available, the Agency shall deliver currency in the available denominations nearest to the value of the required currency.

    • Article 25

      (a) No person shall have the right to recover from the Agency the value of lost or stolen currency, except in the cases where the Agency shall have explicitly relinquished its right by virtue of a legal waiver in which it assumes the risks relating to the shipment of currency.
      (b) The Board of Directors of the Agency shall issue the internal regulations setting forth the conditions governing the redemption of damaged or torn currency and the recovery of its face value in whole or in part.

    • Article 26

      The Agency shall, in cooperation with other authorities, enforce any law relating to the counterfeiting of currency in the State of Bahrain. In determining whether a currency is genuine or counterfeit, the opinion expressed by the authorized official of the Agency shall be taken as proof of the incident making the object of legal prosecution in the State of Bahrain.