The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Governor Dalitso Kabambe has announced in a statement that unlicensed Forex dealers will be dealt with, following Section 3 of the Exchange Control Act.

 Part of the statement reads, “The current licensing regime only recognises Authorised Dealer Banks [ADBs], Foreign Exchange Bureaus, Tourist Operators and Money Transfer Agents  as eligible entities to conduct foreign exchange transactions”

In February, it was revealed that $394.60m was lost through unauthorized externalization of foreign exchange. RBM therefore signed a Memorandum of Understanding with seven government law enforcement agencies to charge on the crime.

Kabambe revealed that the crime was investigated by the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), stating that foreign exchange was affected due to illegal foreign currency externalization and transfer pricing, two counts charged on some commercial banks and several chinese-owned firms.