Tanzania says only 109 out of its 297 forex bureaus meet requirements

A security guard outside a bureau de change shop in Tanzania. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By THE CITIZEN

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Just about a third of Tanzania's forex bureaus have complied with a new law on forex business in the country, with the rest failing to meet the required conditions in the fresh registration ordered by the government.

Only 109 out of 297 forex bureaus, which existed before the start of the new registration, passed the requirements, according to the government.

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Finance and Planning minister Philip Mpango said on Sunday that the 188 bureaus that did not meet the new threshold now face deregistration.

Money laundering

He spoke when delivering a report on the state of the country’s economy and the six months implementation of the government’s 2018/19 budget.

"The government through the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) is continuing taking measures that strengthen forex business in the country and avoid any possible involvement in illegal business including money laundering,” he said.

He named one of the conditions that disqualified some bureaux as the TSh100 million-TSh300 million (Sh4.4m-13.2m) minimum capital requirement for a bureau de change to be placed in grade-A, and TSh250 million-TSh1 billion (Sh11m-Sh44.2m) capital for grade-B.