Presidential Staffer and Board Member of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Beatrice Annan, has disclosed that some business operators in Ghana are issuing fraudulent invoices to the Central Bank in order to obtain U.S. dollars.
Speaking on Adom FM Burning Issues, she explained that investigations by the Central Bank have uncovered instances where some importers inflate the value of their invoices to secure more foreign exchange than needed for their actual transactions.
“Some business people quote higher amounts in dollars than the actual cost of their imports. The Bank of Ghana’s checks have revealed that the value of goods they bring in does not match the amount they requested,” she said.
Madam Annan described the act as a deliberate attempt to siphon dollars out of the country, stressing that the BoG has taken steps to curb the practice.
She further attributed the recent appreciation of the Ghana cedi to sound fiscal management and prudent monetary policies rather than alleged dollar injections by the Bank of Ghana.
“The cedi’s performance is the result of strong policies and fiscal discipline. If anyone claims it’s because the Bank of Ghana is pumping dollars into the system, that’s false,” she argued.
According to her, the Central Bank has adopted effective measures to ensure the cedi remains stable in the long term.
“If those in the previous administration believed that merely injecting dollars could stabilize the cedi, then it was unfortunate that they never did so when they had the chance,” she added.
Ms. Annan maintained that both the Bank of Ghana and the government remain committed to maintaining stability and transparency in the country’s foreign exchange management system.
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