Over 70 individuals and entities have been arrested by officials of the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service for buying and selling foreign exchange without a licence.
The move was a result of a special operation targeting foreign exchange parallel market operators – otherwise known as black market operators – conducted by the two institutions.
The perpetrators who were identified at popular places within the Central Business District of Accra, specifically the Rawlings Park, Makola, and Tudu are expected to face prosecution.
The ‘Black Market’ dealers are said to be one of the main contributors to the rapid fall of the local currency against the dollar and other major foreign currencies.
After the exercise, Head of Forex Exchange Bureau at the Bank of Ghana, Adjoa Konadu Torto, stated that the move is part of measures to check the free fall of the local currency.
“This special operation was part of the Bank’s overall strategy to sanitize the foreign exchange market. Other measures being put in place include enforcement of compliance from licensed foreign exchange bureaux particularly with the taking of customer identification (Ghana card) and issuance of electronic receipt for every forex transaction; intensified public sensitization and media engagements to educate the general public on forex rules and regulations, including the need to avoid the black market,” she said.
She hinted that the drill will go on in other areas of the country in the coming days.
The Bank of Ghana issued a strong caution to the general public to desist from engaging in the services of foreign exchange with businesses operating without a licence.
“The Bank cautions the general public to desist from engaging in foreign exchange business without a licence. Members of the public who patronise the activities of black market operators are equally guilty before the law. The general public must always trade with the Bank of Ghana licensed foreign exchange (forex) bureaux,” she said.