Twenty one more companies have now been found abusing the foreign currency auction system, bringing the total to 39, and of these, 27 have been assessed civil penalties while 12 others have been issued with written warnings for aiding or abetting the flouting of exchange control regulations.
Those assessed civil penalties are barred from the auctions until they pay, and could be permanently blacklisted from the auctions if their breach of regulations was very serious, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya, said in a statement yesterday.
The RBZ has been coming hard on companies abusing the funds obtained from the foreign currency auction system, and on June 15, the RBZ named and shamed 18 companies that were fingered in the abuse.
In a statement yesterday, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said after investigations by the central bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit, another 21 had been found in breach of regulations, including transfer pricing, use of fraudulent import documentation, failure to bank cash and conducting illegal foreign exchange transactions.
“The punitive measures include prohibitions from participation in the foreign exchange auctions until the full payment of the fines imposed or permanent blacklisting from participation in the foreign exchange auction, depending on the seriousness of the breach,” said Dr Mangudya.
Towards the end of May, Government announced Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021 Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures), which states that firms that abuse the foreign currency obtained at the foreign currency auction trading system could be heavily penalised by having civil penalties levied.
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