The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has warned businesses and the public to desist from selling the country’s currency, the cedi, and pesewa coins or face prosecution.

It said the act of giving a high value of the currency to people for lower values to meet their needs was illegal and punishable by summary conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or a fine not exceeding 2,000 penalty units or both.

In a public notice issued to the public yesterday, the central bank said any trading of the currency, regardless of the purpose, was criminal and, therefore, prohibited.

In the notice, signed by the Secretary of the bank, Ms Sandra Thompson, the BoG said the warning applied to persons trading the currency online or otherwise.

It, however, said the warning was not applicable to persons who engaged in “money exchange for the purpose of making some denominations available to others who need them”.

E-cedi

The Daily Graphic gathered that the notice was issued after the central bank had noticed an uptick in the sale and purchase of the currency, mostly on online platforms.

A highly placed source at the BoG told the paper that “the warning has become necessary following increased sale of cedi notes and pesewa coins online and on other electronic platforms for antique and other overt reasons”.

The source, which was not authorised to officially speak on the matter, said the bank had noticed that some foreigners who had some ancestral connections to Ghana took pride in buying the national currency for antique purposes, an act it emphasised was illegal.

It said the trade mostly happened online at rates above the face value of the denominations offered.

“There is also another group, mostly in countries such as Ukraine, Latvia and Spain, who offer higher prices for lower value of the currency and this takes place on e-bay, Lebon Coin, among other online platforms.

“There are instances when people buy, say GH¢1,500 of the GH¢10 notes for around $1,000. That is clearly an illegality,” the source, which was involved in the investigations leading to the issuing of the notice, said.

Money laundering

It further indicated that the nature of the activity lent itself to money laundering by persons outside Ghana, who were finding creative ways to disguise their ill-gotten wealth.

It also explained that the notice was meant to warn persons who paraded as ‘money doublers’ to desist from the act.

The BoG source said the bank had taken note of an emerging trend where people used television and radio stations and social media platforms to encourage people to send them money for the amounts to be doubled within a short period.

“The practice amounts to selling the currency, which is frowned upon by the 1992 Constitution and the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) as amended,” the source warned.

Right to issue

The BoG notice emphasised that the bank was “the only institution with the right to issue and redeem Ghana cedi notes and coins in Ghana, according to Article 183 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 35 of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612), as amended”.

“It is, therefore, illegal for any person or institution to buy or sell Ghana cedi notes or coins currently in circulation, regardless of the purpose or intent for such trading.

“The Bank of Ghana, therefore, informs the public that all persons engaged in the activity of selling (online or otherwise) of Ghana cedi notes or coins currently in circulation must desist from doing so immediately and are prohibited from further engaging in such trades with immediate effect,” it added.

Source: Graphic.com.gh