HARARE, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe government has enacted legislation to curb selling of cash by unlicensed dealers, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement to the parliament on Thursday.
The illegal practice has become rampant in the past few months as cash shortages in banks continue in the country.
Chinamasa said President Robert Mugabe enacted the Exchange Control Regulations on Thursday.
"These regulations will empower the police to arrest anyone trading in currency without a license as it is an offence," Chinamasa said.
Because the banks have no sufficient cash for depositors, U.S. dollar notes and bond notes are available on the parallel market but the U.S. dollar is trading at a higher value than bond notes.
The regulations empower the court to impose a fine not exceeding the value of the currency and a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, the finance minister added.
