Tanzania closes down forex outlets in Dar

Most forex trading shops remained closed in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Thursday as uncertainty continues to shroud the currency exchange market.

The EastAfrican has learnt that officials from the central bank and the Tanzania Revenue Authority raided some privately-owned bureaux de changes on Wednesday evening.

Contacted for comment, the Bank of Tanzania spokesman Mr Lwaga Mwambande said they would “let the public know what is going on in due time.”

“There is no business here today, we’ve been told the office won’t operate until maybe tomorrow or the day after,” a guard at one of the outlets told this paper on Thursday.

Last year, the Bank of Tanzania carried out a six-month investigation, which revealed rampant fraud in the forex market business, with several traders involved in money laundering.

As a result, the regulator used the military to seal off suspicious forex bureaus in the northern tourist hub, Arusha, as central bank officials raided the outlets.

BoT also suspended the licensing of new forex bureaus and barred suspect commercial banks from the interbank forex markets.