Tbilisi (GBC) – The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has released information regarding the imposition of 400,000 GEL in fines on currency exchange booths.

For violations of AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism) legislation, the largest fine - 98,000 GEL - was imposed on "Moneto Change" LLC (owned by Ana Gegelia), which failed to record 14 transactions in the electronic system.

The violations and misconduct by the other five entities ("Pagaa," "Moneta," "Tetri," "Lobzhanidze," and "Mariamidze") are nearly identical. The regulator accuses these market participants of violating rules concerning monitoring, record-keeping, and reporting.

In most cases, transactions at these currency exchange points were not archived or entered into the electronic system. Furthermore, services were repeatedly provided without proper verification.

This year, the NBG has announced sanctions against approximately 70 currency exchange booths. Some of these entities are now forced to exit the market or downsize their networks.

Currently, there are 671 such points remaining in the market (compared to 720 previously).