Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has urged the Parliament of Zimbabwe to enact new laws to deal with economic crimes, saying the current statutes do not adequately address such crimes.
Speaking during the just-ended Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) 2022 annual congress held in Victoria Falls, ZRP national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said:
You will find a briefcase company or a fake company, which has no CR14 form (a document that gives details of the directors and secretaries of the company) and is not registered with the Deeds Office, operating 300 accounts, taking deposits and not offering physical products or service.
They are trading and at one point having $1 billion in their accounts which they take from people then they take this money to the parallel market to look for United States dollars.
They don’t pay tax, they don’t contribute anything and they are not members of the ZNCC or the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries but they are saying they are in the Zimbabwe financial system taking money.
Asst Comm Nyathi said they are investigating 28 such companies for operating illegally. He said the entities are also being probed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).
He said fines should also be reviewed as some of them have been eroded by inflation. Said Asst Comm Nyathi:
Some of our laws are weak because if you go to Copacabana in Harare and Egodini in Bulawayo, you will find people standing in corners with huge chunks of Zimbabwe dollars and when you arrest them, the courts will tell you that you don’t have a tight or sustainable charge.
So they get away with a fine and our fines are not being reviewed.
Surely, in an economy like ours, how can people pay a fine of $500 or $1000?
That’s why I want to challenge our Parliamentarians to assist in the maintenance of law and order in the country.
Let’s have deterrent fines. Our fines are pathetic, to say the least.Money Changers
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