Financial Intelligence Unit To Recruit Financial Crime Experts
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is set to recruit more than 20 financial crimes experts to augment its staff complement of 27 permanent workers.
The FIU, which falls under the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), plans to recruit 19 experts in forensic auditing and accounting as well as other specialists.
In recent years, the FIU has been fighting to curb financial crimes such as illegal foreign currency trading and abuse of the foreign currency auction system.
Speaking to The Sunday Mail, FIU director-general Oliver Chiperesa said non-bank financial institutions are yet to reach the required level of compliance.
Non-banking organisations include law firms, accounting firms estate agents, casinos and precious stone dealers, among others. Said Chiperesa:
Unlike banks, which have in place stronger controls, most of these other sectors have not yet reached the level of compliance that we want them to be at.
They submit far fewer suspicious transaction reports than they should.
So with increased FIU capacity, we will see more and more transactions being reported by other sectors instead of the current status where it is mostly banks that report.
Chiperesa added that strengthening the FIU’s capacity to fight crime should be accompanied by enhancing the capacity of other law enforcement agencies.
