Zimbabwe President Warns of Crackdown on Financial Industry

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe has promised to take unspecified steps against financial services firms that he accuses of profiteering. 

On Twitter, government spokesman Nick Mangwana quoted Mnangagwa as saying, “there are sharks in the financial sector. We now know who they are. We are dealing with them.”

According to Bloomberg, Mangwana did not respond to a text message requesting further comment on Monday. Mnangagwa did not name the firms he was referring to. 

Mnangagwa has previously given notices to private firms that he believes are crippling his attempts to turn around an economy beset by annual inflation of 241% and foreign-currency shortages. His government shut down the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange for five weeks last year and pointed out the country’s biggest telecom network, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd., for crippling the currency through its mobile money operation. 

The president of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe, Ralph Watungwa, did not return two calls requesting comment.

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