HARARE, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) on Tuesday named and shamed 30 individuals whom it alleged were abusing mobile phone services and social media to promote and facilitate illegal foreign exchange transactions and money-laundering activities.
The central bank's governor John Mangudya said in a statement that RBZ's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had instructed banks, mobile money operators and other financial service providers to identify and freeze any accounts operated by the identified individuals and bar them from accessing financial services for a period of two years with immediate effect.
The FIU had also requested the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to bar the named individuals from operating mobile phone lines, Mangudya added.
"The FIU, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, will continue to monitor various social media and bank accounts to identify and take action against perpetrators of illicit dealings."
"Over and above the corrective measures of barring the delinquent individuals from accessing banking and financial services and operating mobile phone lines, the FIU has forwarded their names and particulars to law enforcement agencies for prosecution," Mangudya said.
The RBZ action came a day after 14 suspected illegal foreign currency dealers, including four company directors, appeared in court facing charges of money laundering. Enditem
