Three state-owned commercial banks are now in trouble after buying Libyan currency from Bangladeshis who had returned from the war-torn country in 2011.

Sonali, Janata and Agrani banks had purchased 58 lakh Libyan dinars equivalent of Tk 32.22 crore at current exchange rates from the expatriates at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, mainly on humanitarian grounds.

Of the amount, Sonali bought 10 lakh dinars, Janata 25 lakh, and Agrani 23 lakh, officials of the banks said.

The Libyan dinar is not currently convertible internationally, the officials said, adding that the currencies have been lying idle in their vaults.

An official of Sonali Bank said they will now request Bangladesh Bank to see whether it can exchange the dinars by corresponding with the Libyan central bank. Agrani Bank already wrote to the central bank, seeking steps.

The officials said they had purchased the dinars at verbal instructions from Bangladesh Bank officials and government high-ups. The World Bank at that time had provided around $30 million for repatriating the workers who returned from Libya.