The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, has announced strict new measures to curb large cash withdrawals of foreign currency, stressing that the era of corporations walking away with millions of dollars over the counter is over.
According to Dr. Asiama, investigations revealed that some corporates earning foreign exchange through exports deposited these funds into their Foreign Currency Accounts (FCA) only to demand withdrawals of as much as $10 million in cash.
“Imagine a corporation wanting to withdraw $10 million over the counter. The fact is, what do they use that for? Because their payments are abroad, they don’t carry physical cash to go and settle anything. And so we said no to such corporations, they can afford to play in that regime,” he stated.
The BoG Governor clarified that the directive was not targeted at ordinary citizens who may require smaller amounts of dollars for travel or personal use. “For individuals like you and me, probably you need your few $100 or $200 to do something, that’s understandable. You can negotiate with your bank… You are at ease doing that.”
Anti-Money Laundering Measures
Dr. Asiama revealed that intelligence reports uncovered cases where individuals smuggled large volumes of dollars out of Ghana without declaring them. Some were caught carrying more than $1 million in cash.
“Those are leakages, right? And so as a regulator, it’s for us to work together with the other regulators, GRA, and the others, to ensure that if you have to carry such large sums, these are accounted for. Don’t forget, that’s also good for the anti-money laundering fight that we have on our hands,” he stressed.
Consultation With Banks
Responding to claims that the central bank’s stance is too tough, Dr. Asiama dismissed the notion, describing the rules as necessary to safeguard Ghana’s financial system.
“It is like you have a soccer match. There’s a context within which the game has to be played, and so that’s exactly what we are doing.”
He further explained that the directives were not imposed unilaterally but followed extensive consultations with bank executives. “We met with the banks. We met with the CEOs of banks a number of times. We took on board the feedback from them. That’s why the banks are silent—they were consulted.”
Dr. Asiama emphasized that the BoG’s ultimate goal is to set clear rules that protect the market and ensure efficiency.
