Selling foreign pounds and the like

Question

From foreign countries a draft of a London bank in the form of pounds comes to India. The Government of India has fixed a rate for this draft. Is it permissible, instead of cashing the draft at a bank in India at that rate, to cash it with private traders because they give a larger amount than the rate fixed by the government? What is (the status of) one who does this?

Answer

If doing so does not incur legal prosecution, then there is latitude for it, provided that the Muslim suffers no loss.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.