Neville Mutsvangwa, the son of the Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Monica Mutsvangwa and ZANU PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa, has been arrested on allegations of illegal forex dealings.
The Herald reported sources as saying Mutsvangwa was on Wednesday, 08 May, picked up from his Mount Pleasant home by detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department’s Commercial Crimes Division on allegations of illegally trading in foreign currency.
Police arrested Mutsvangwa after her reportedly appeared to advertise the ZiG black market selling exchange rate of 18,5 to the US dollar, on his WhatsApp status.
This arrest came as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and other state institutions have intensified efforts to crack down on illegal money changers following the introduction of ZiG last month.
The authorities blame illegal currency dealing for distorting the exchange rate and devaluing the local currency.
The arrest of scores of street forex dealers has driven them underground and some are now using the WhatsApp platform to conduct deals.
