Bank managers stashing money in offshore accounts – ZACC

Bank managers are stashing money in offshore accounts, causing the public to lose confidence in the financial services sector due to their complicit role in financial crimes, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has said.

ZACC chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said bank executives and “corrupt individuals” are using financial institutions “to legitimise their dirty monies by bringing them into the formal financial system.”

“We are aware that corruption in the private sector is damaging the economy, and this must stop forthwith. We have noted that some banks’ involvement as conduits of proceeds of ill-gotten money from the public sector. We are warning you that this must stop,” Matanda-Moyo said in a speech read on her behalf at the inaugural financial crimes indaba Justice Matanda-Moyo said a wide array of banks are providing corrupt individuals with a haven to stash their dirty money.

“This loophole is due to both overall lax enforcement of anti-money laundering regulations and the way that banks currently undertake due diligence,” Matanda-Moyo said.

“We even understand that in some cases, executives of local banks are stashing their money in offshore accounts. If you do not have confidence in an institution that you lead, then who do you expect to have confidence? This must stop forthwith and as ZACC we will investigate this and expose the culprits,” she said.

Matanda-Moyo said the recent Transparency International Corruption Perception Index indicated that Zimbabwe had moved a few notches up the rankings because of efforts being made to fight corruption.

“We are nowhere near where we want to see ourselves but nonetheless, we must remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” she said. Zim Morning Post