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Ethiopia’s Federal Document, Authentication and Registration Agency announced today that it will no longer authenticate property transactions made by cash payment.
As of today, September 17, 2020, the Agency can only authenticate the sale and purchase of properties if only the parties made the transaction through the formal banking system. The two parties (buyer and seller) must be able to present the bank transfer and the deposit confirmation (bank transfer receipts) to the Agency.
In addition, the agency also indicated that any loan between two parties has also been supported with bank receipts as of today in order to be authenticated. The Agency’s decision to prohibit cash payments in real and personal property transactions followed the introduction by Ethiopia of new banknotes to combat organized crime and smuggling, money laundering and the printing of counterfeit coins.
Releasing the new banknotes this week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told bankers to cautiously remove the counterfeit banknotes from their banking system. Noting that some banks are engaged in circulating counterfeit Ethiopian currency (the Birr), he warned bankers that from now on his administration will shut down any banks found to be involved in such illegal activities.
In Ethiopia, most transactions are carried out with cash, although in recent years the government has tried to create a cashless society by introducing mobile money and internet banking.
The Ethiopian Customs report in recent years shows that illegal trade across borders and the circulation of hard currency by organized crime has been on the rise. The Ethiopian Customs Commission Report shows that over the past six months, on average, the Commission has been seizing one million dollars worth of goods, including weapons and smuggled goods from organized crime, mainly over the course of from the borders of Ethiopia.
