More Money Changers were detained by police in Bulawayo on Monday in an apparent continuation of previous crackdowns for allegedly breaking Zimbabwe’s financial restrictions. This comes after 65 people were recently apprehended in Harare for comparable offences.
The accused people were allegedly captured selling the new Zimbabwe Gold money on the illicit market, which led to the most recent arrests. The official exchange rate of 13.2889 ZiG to one US dollar is said to be considerably different from the currency’s trade on the black market, where it is purportedly exchanged at a rate of 20 ZiG to one US dollar.
The accused people had broken the Exchange Control Act and Exchange Control Regulations, according to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ). Some of the people who were arrested, according to NPAZ, were apprehended at several locations throughout Harare and were found to be in possession of different credit and debit cards as well as point of sale (POS) equipment.
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The 65 people who had been detained recently had their court appearances on Monday before provincial magistrates Dennis Mangosi and Ethel Chichera. They were placed under detention and kept under observation until their planned court dates on Wednesday and Friday. According to reports, before their bail decisions on May 2, some of the accused money changers would be held in remand detention for up to 14 days.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, a police spokesperson, confirmed to VOA that other money changers had been arrested in Bulawayo, but he declined to provide any further information.
Authorities in Zimbabwe claim that some money changers are taking advantage of the depreciation of the new currency to make money.
