Africa-Press – Mozambique. Standard Bank announced on Tuesday that it plans to remain active in Mozambique, a day after the central bank announced sanctions for manipulating the foreign exchange market.
“Standard Bank has a clear business continuity plan, so much so that it has appointed an interim managing director since this process began,” it said in a statement.
The bank also said it “will continue to engage and work with the Bank of Mozambique to clarify all allegations regarding its suspension from the foreign exchange market and safeguard the interests of customers and all stakeholders.”
“Its daily operations unrelated to this process are not affected and continue to run normally,” the bank added, saying it was “committed” to doing business “ethically and responsibly,” with “rigorous” governance and compliance processes.
The Bank of Mozambique on Monday punished Standard Bank for “fraudulent manipulation of the exchange rate, installation and implementation of an illegal payment network based outside the country” and “irregular operations of financial derivatives to hedge risks associated to currency fluctuation.”
The bank was fined €4 million and is banned from the foreign exchange market for a year. In addition, two managers, Chief Executive Officer, Adimohanma Chukwuma Nwokocha, and director of the Corporate and Investment wing of the bank, Carlos Madeira were fined and banned from holding positions in credit institutions for six years.
