DODOMA: THE government has announced that it will refund, including giving back assets belonging to all owners of Bureau de Change who were found innocent following its crackdown it carried out across the country.
Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Hamad Hassan Chande issued an announcement in Parliament yesterday when responding to the question by Ussi Salum Pondeza (CCM- Chumbuni).
“The sixth phase government, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, is not ready and will never be happy to see law-abiding citizens are deprived of their rights,” Mr Chande said.
He added: “That being the case, all owners of Bureau de Change, whose assets and money were seized by the government during the operation, but later found to be innocent, will have their funds and assets reinstated.”
In his basic question, the Isles legislator sought government response on the reasons that prompted it to carry out the operation that rendered hundreds of Tanzanians jobless.
In his response, the deputy minister said during the crackdown, the government through the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) uncovered that some cash dealers carried out transactions that contravened the Foreign Exchange (Bureau de Change) Act and its regulations and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2006 that prohibited legal and natural persons from engaging in transactions which involve the proceeds of crime, or from assisting others to do so.
He said having the government learnt of the situation, the central bank in collaboration with other organs, carried out a special inspection in 2018 and 2019 on 68 Bureau de Change before establishing that some cash dealers were carrying out transactions without proper identification of customers.
According to the deputy minister, some Bureau de Change were also conducting transactions without issuing receipts, a malpractice that violated Regulation No.23 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulations 2015.
The deputy minister said, having carried out such a special crackdown in 2018 and 2019, it was established that some cash dealers were not furnishing the central back with correct information on the transactions carried out, a malpractice that prompted the BoT to fail to have proper data usable when compiling reports of the country’s economic growth.
Furthermore, the special operation uncovered that some Bureau de Change were engaging in transferring money outside the country without possessing licences from the central bank.
According to the government, all Bureau de Change that were found guilty after the investigation had their licences revoked.
However, Deputy Minister Chande said out of 68 Bureau de Change involved in the special inspection, only seven are yet to be given the green light to proceed with the business.
It would be recalled that before the 2018 and 2019 operations, the first investigation was carried out in 2016.
To bring sanity to the business, the government, in 2023, came up with The Foreign Exchange Act, (CAP.
271)’s 2023 Regulations, revoking, the Foreign Exchange (Bureau de Change) Regulations of 2019.
Engaging in a bureau de change business without a valid licence issued by the BoT remains prohibited, as stipulated in Regulation 3 of the 2023 Regulations.
Violating this requirement constitutes a criminal offence which attracts a penalty of TZS 4 million (USD 1,600), or imprisonment for a term of up to 14 years, or a combination of both.
Giving additional answers to the question, Minister for Finance Dr Mwigulu Nchemba said cash dealers whose tax estimates were overrated will also receive tax refund.
