Dr. Clement Apaak, Member of Parliament for Builsa South, has criticised the Bank of Ghana for the arrest of some black market operators.
The legislator stated that simply arresting illegal forex traders was insufficient.
According to him, the BoG must go beyond the arrest because the operators do not print the money.
He is questioning the source of the operators’ funds.
The Bank of Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, apprehended over 76 illegal foreign exchange dealers operating in the ‘Black Market.’
They are expected to face charges.
Adjoa Konadu Torto, Head of the Bank of Ghana’s Forex Exchange Bureau, stated that the exercise will continue in other parts of the country in the coming days.
She maintained, however, that members of the public who support the activities of “Black Market” operators are equally guilty in the eyes of the law.
“The over 76 perpetrators were apprehended by the police for prosecution. The special operation will continue nationwide”.
“The purpose of the operation was to clamp down on individuals and entities engaging in the business of buying and selling foreign exchange without a licence from Bank of Ghana in violation of Ghana’s Foreign Exchange Laws and regulations”, she explained.
Reacting to the arrest, Dr. Apaak asked the BoG to probe further to discover where the black operators get their dollars from.
He said if the BoG was serious, they would track and investigate those who supply the black operators the dollars with which they operate.
“BOG – How do the black marketers of dollar get the dollars in the 1st place? They don’t print dollars, do they? If the BOG is serious, it ought to track/investigate to find out those who supply the dollars to the black marketers.”
