Ecobank in trouble over cash baron

By Desmond Munemo

Ecobank has been officially fingered for corruptly issuing out of ZW$15, 000 to a customer seen with sealed $2 and $5 dollar banknotes in a picture circulating on social media.

Barely two days after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) injected the first $30 million batch of new bank notes in banks, they were already on the streets where black market traders were showing off on social media.

Commercial banks on Monday collected $30 million from RBZ, started issuing on Tuesday and account holders get $300 weekly cash withdrawal rations.

The RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya yesterday issued a statement on the matter:

“The RBZ has taken note of pictures circulating on social media that show recently introduced 2 dollar banknotes in sealed packs, suggesting that the notes are already being traded on the parallel market.

“The Bank has conducted investigations on the matter, and the findings are that the banknotes in the circulating pictures emanated from Ecobank.

“Preliminary investigations by the RBZ at Ecobank indicate that an amount of ZW$15, 000 was withdrawn by one customer.

“Ecobank, together with their customer, are now assisting the Zimbabwe Republic Police with further investigations on this matter.

“Appropriate disciplinary measures shall be taken against the bank and the customer and anyone else found responsible for such malpractices which bring the RBZ and the entire banking system into disrepute.

Mangudya added: “Such malpractices cannot and should not be condoned.

“In the meantime, the Bank would like to advise the public on how banks withdraw cash from the RBZ.

“The procedure is such that banks transfer the equivalent amount of their cash requirements to the RBZ through the RTGS system.

“The banks will then collect the cash from the RBZ to their central cash depots from where they distribute to their branch network.” H-Metro