Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama has warned that the movement of undeclared foreign currency through Ghana’s airports and border points poses a threat to the integrity of the country’s financial system.
According to Dr Asiama, substantial amounts of foreign currency are reportedly being moved through the country without the required declaration, prompting the establishment of a Preliminary Investigation Committee on Seized Foreign Currency.
The multi-agency committee was inaugurated by the Bank of Ghana to help address what the Governor described as a serious gap in the financial system.
Dr Asiama said the problem went beyond the physical movement of foreign currency, as undeclared flows could facilitate money laundering, tax evasion and other forms of illicit activity.
He further warned that such transactions “weaken the financial intelligence that authorities rely on to monitor the system.”
The BoG Governor also noted that currency moved outside declared channels could undermine efforts to strengthen Ghana’s formal foreign exchange market by diverting funds away from it.
The Bank of Ghana is therefore collaborating with the Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Airports Company Limited, National Security, EOCO, the Financial Intelligence Centre and the Attorney General’s Office to “safeguard the country’s borders, markets and resources for every Ghanaian.”