Mozambique: Central Bank imposes fines against financial institutions – AIM

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Mozambique: Central Bank imposes fines against financial institutions – AIM

3:16 CAT | 05 Oct 2022

in file CoM

The Bank of Mozambique has imposed fines on seven commercial banks, one financial institution and four microfinance operators for the period between June 2021 and August 2022 over violations of prudential, foreign exchange and prevention and fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism.

These are Standard Bank Mozambique, First Capital Bank Mozambique, United Bank For Africa Mozambique, Vodafone MPESA, ABSA Bank Mozambique, Banco Comercial e de Investimentos, Access Bank and Moza Banco, with the smallest fine, among the credit institutions.

The heaviest penalty was handed down to Standard Bank in the sum of 96,851,350 meticais (about 1.5 million US dollars at the current exchange rate)

Mozambique’s Central Bank imposed the heaviest penalty following the discovery of new parallel networks in addition to the single national network – SIMO.

Other irregularities include violation of a specific determination of the Bank of Mozambique that prohibits carrying out foreign exchange transactions using exchange rates different from the reference rates on the foreign exchange market and violation of the duty of information in carrying out foreign exchange transactions.

Banco de Moçambique also sanctioned microfinance operators Khula Microcrédito, Virgílio Artur Milisse, Assucena Milice and Mauro Vicente das Dores Goca.

In a statement, the Bank of Mozambique said that the fines, which ranged from 268,000 meticais to almost 97 million meticais (1.5 million US dollars).

Among the infractions committed by the institutions sanctioned are violation of duty to provide information when carrying out foreign exchange transactions, violation of the duty to report suspicious operations and opening branches without prior authorisation.

In another statement, the Bank of Mozambique said it had imposed fines of between 155,000 to nine million meticais against Absa Bank, Acces Bank, Mais Microcrédito, Banco Letshego and Standard Bank for violations of rules of conduct.

Source: AIM