38 Forex Bureaux Face Closure By Bank Of Ghana

The Bank of Ghana has threatened to close down forex bureaus that are not complying with its operational regulations.

In a letter sent to the Forex Bureaux Association, BoG named 38 forex bureaus that were not complying with the central bank’s regulations.

The affected 38 forex bureaux are in the Greater Accra Region, Ashanti and the Northern regions. Twenty-eight are in located in various places in Accra including, Adabraka, New town, Zongo Junction and Kaneshie. Nine are in Kumasi specifically Adum and Suame and one in Tamale.

They have been cited for non-compliance of various regulations including non-renewal of licences, failure to submit audited accounts, failure to submit monthly financial reports and failure to operate within a period of 2 years. Some were also cited for failure to check the IDs of individuals who did business with them.

Per the Bank of Ghana Forex Bureau Regulations issued in accordance with the Foreign Exchange Act, 2006 (Act 723), forex bureaux operators must capture all purchases and sales electronically and issue receipts accordingly.

Also, all customers must provide valid national identification or other valid personal ID such as Voter’s ID, Passport or Driver’s License when engaging in forex transactions with Forex Bureau. All licensed Forex Bureaux must submit the required monthly returns electronically to the Bank of Ghana within five (5) working days after the end of the month.

All licensed Forex Bureaux operators must renew their licenses every two years. And this must be done by submitting:

Copy of Tax Clearance Certificate
Copy of Insurance Certificate
Extract of Audited Accounts
Bank Statements
Proof of filing of Annual Returns at the Registrar General’s Department

The Bank of Ghana had warned that failure to do all these will result in the revocation of license of defaulters. The affected operators have up to May 15 to comply with the requirements or risk losing their licenses.

Source: primenewsghana.com