MINISTRY OF FINANCE ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO CURB ILLEGAL FOREIGN CURRENCY DEALINGS
2 min read
Patriots Reporter
Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube has issued a public advisory note on measures being instituted by Government to curb illegal foreign currency dealings and parallel market price benchmarking.
Prof Mthuli Ncube said government, through various agencies is presently seized with instituting various measures to curb illegal trade in foreign currency.
The Finance Minister said that the recent resurgence of parallel market or indexation of prices of goods and services at parallel market rates has been identified as a significant contributor to price instability and are imposing significant downside risks to macroeconomy stability.
Prof Mthuli Ncube says the measures his ministry and other agencies will implement are:
- ZIMRA will be carrying out impromptu audits of corporate activities with a view of quantifying potential tax liabilities arising out of illegal foreign currency trading.
- ZIMRA will carry out compliance audits with respect to compliance with the Location Tax introduced during the 2021 fiscal year.
- The Financial Intelligence Unit will continue to closely monitor and analyse transactions to identify, expose and take action against perpetrators of money laundering and other financial crime.
- The capacity of FIU and other law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute violations of the Bank Use and Promotion Act as well as various AMLCFT laws will be enhanced.
- Regulatory bodies including the Public Accountants and Auditors Board, will also be working on a framework to impose appropriate financial and professional sanctions on members of the accounting, auditing and other professions who may be complicit in superintending over illicit affairs by corporate entities which they are charged with running.
- Business who disregard the law and continue to price their goods on the parallel market rates will have their licences suspended
- Members of the public are strongly encouraged to report to the FIU and the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate, all business entities directly or indirectly benchmarking prices at parallel market exchange rates.
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