Govt begins tracking ‘ill-gotten wealth’
GOVERNMENT has promulgated Statutory Instrument 246 of 2018, which will see illegal currency traders being sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. The regulations — Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act and Exchange Control Act) Regulations, 2018 — came into effect Monday as the authorities move to eradicate the foreign currency black market.
The key changes include the amendment of section 2 of Cap. 9:24 2. of Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act [Chapter 9:24] (No. 4 of 2013) and the insertion of a new Chapter – IIIA – in Cap. 9:24 3. Reads part of SI-246: “Amendment of section 5 of Cap. 22:0 5. The Exchange Control Act [Chapter 22:05] is amended in section 5 (“Offences and penalties”) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4) — “(a4) Where the offence of which a person is convicted in terms of subsection (l)(a) or (b) involves the unauthorised dealing in (other than the exportation, externalisation or expatriation from Zimbabwe) of any foreign currency, gold or precious stone, the court may, in addition to the fine referred to subsection (4), impose a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding ten years.”
Under regulations that are already in effect, Government is now tracking unexplained movement of money in the financial system through the Unexplained Wealth Orders Statute. The Unexplained Wealth Orders Statute empowers the High Court may, on an ex parte application made by an enforcement authority, to make an unexplained wealth order in respect of any property if the court is satisfied that each of the requirements for the making of the order is fulfilled.
“An unexplained wealth order is an order requiring the respondent to provide a statement — (a) setting out the nature and extent of the respondent’s interest in the property in respect of which the order is made; and (b) explaining how the respondent obtained the property (including, in particular, how any costs incurred in obtaining it were met); and (c) where the property is held by the trustees of a settlement, setting out such details of the settlement as may be specified in the order; and (d) setting out such other information in connection with the property as may be so specified,” reads part of the amended regulations.
Last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa instructed the Justice Ministry to work expeditiously with the AttorneyGeneral’s Office to draft regulations to bring currency manipulators and money launderers to book. The President has said parallel market forex activities are a national security threat. — BH24