Source: BREAKING: More cash barons’ bank accounts frozen | The Herald October 29, 2019
Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said it has frozen idle funds in bank accounts that were being used to hurt the domestic currency and driving price increases and exerting pressure on inflation.RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya revealed this at a briefing in Harare for media and banking sector executives following the central bank’s first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Monday and Tuesday this week. However, the RBZ chief said the idle cash was not ill-gotten wealth, although it was being used speculatively. The funds will now be invested in productive sectors.
Dr Mangudya said 50 corporates hold half the total banking sector deposits of $17 billion and the companies were behind money market activities that were hurting the domestic unit introduced in February this year. While the official interbank rate is now around US$1 to $15,6 from US$1 to $2,5 when the exchange rate was liberalised in February and the interbank market introduced, the rate should be around US$1 to between $5 and $8.
The accounts include, but not limited to those for Sakunda, Access Finance, Spartan Security, Croco Motors and related companies, which were frozen last month by the bank’s financial intelligence unit.
More to follow…
COMMENTS
The government is taking ligitmate funds of large corporates (I hope no pension or investments funds have invested in these corporates) and will use their money productively. Does this sound remotely viable/correct/logical/legal?
RBZ Governor Mangudya has frozen US$ accounts !!!
I am a simple man, and to me this sounds like he has raided the US$ accounts of private companies and is using that money for his own programs, whatever those are.
This sounds exactly the same as the US$ 10 million that RBZ took from the Chinese escrow account that held the funds for upgrading the Harare International Airport.
When RBZ refused to return the $10 million, the Chinese indicated that they regarded this as theft and then suspended all ongoing investments and projects in Zimbabwe.
Governor Mangudya appears to think that any money held in bank accounts is his to play with as he feels fit. He is incorrect and he is a significant danger to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.
He should be relieved of his position and have no further authority on Zimbabwean financial matters.
In a good revolution he would be hung!
EXCELLENT GOVERNOR
A fake exercise by Mangudya!