The Bank of Ghana has urged all forex bureaus to report to the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC) all sales and purchases of foreign currencies with a threshold of GH¢ 20,000 or its foreign currency equivalent or amounts as may be determined by the FIC.
Together with their directors/management and employees, they are prohibited from disclosing that a report has been filed with the FIC.
This was captured in the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Guidelines for Forex Bureaus 2025.
The guidelines urged all foreign exchange bureaus to screen all customers. They are also not to transact business with sanctioned customers, designated by the United Nations Security Council, OFAC, European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, Africa Union, ECOWAS or a Competent Authority or a Supervisory Body as well as business with domestically sanctioned customers.
Meanwhile, forex bureaus are required to adopt a risk-based approach in the identification and management of ML/TF/PF risks.
They shall ensure that AML/CFT/CPF policies governing their operations do not only prescribe money laundering and predicate offences but also prescribe sanctions for non-compliance with the relevant AML/CFT/CPF requirements.
The Bank of Ghana added that it is, therefore, in the best interest of the forex bureaus to entrench a culture of compliance that would be facilitated by these guidelines.
