Black Market, the illegal foreign exchange business is back, and it is being practiced in broad daylight at Ghana’s only international airport in Accra.

Despite the ban placed on this illegal activity, the “black marketeers” are blatantly abusing the laws of the country, and they have now besieged and turned the nation’s major gateway - the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) into their theatre of operation.

They ply their illegal trade as though there is no law governing their actions.

“It is worrying to see how these people operate with impunity,” a worried observer told the 'Weekend Finder', adding that with “all manner of dignitaries and foreigners entering the country through the airport, this does not speak well of Ghana.”

What makes the matter more distressing is the fact that the hands of security personnel whose duty it is to nip in the bud the illegal activity, appear to have been tied while the actors are having a field day.

“Any time we effect an arrest, instructions are issued from above for the immediate release of the suspects and we look so stupid while they go back to engage in their illegal activities,” a Weekend Finder source with the security agencies said.

The source further said that the “action of ‘black marketeers is not only an affront to the laws governing foreign exchange operations in the country, but a huge dent on the international image of the country.

“It is only in Ghana that laws exist on paper but do not translate into practice,” the source added.

Ironically, most of those who engage in this illegal business are not Ghanaians and are even suspected to be illegal and undocumented aliens.

“How can we allow these people to be doing this business at such a prime place as the international airport in Accra?” another observer commented.

Speaking to some Forex Bureau operators in Accra on the issue, they stated that the illegal operators rob them of business since most people prefer to go to them because they offer higher rates.

They claimed that because the illegal operators do not pay any revenue to the state, they give better offers than those of the Forex Bureau.

However, they claimed that it is only those who know the law governing foreign exchange that come to them to do business.

“How many of such people do we have in Ghana?” a worried Forex Bureau operator told the Weekend Finder.

In this connection, the operators of the Forex Bureau have appealed to those in charge of making the law work to address the issue urgently.

The Bank of Ghana has regulations governing the operations of foreign exchange, and one of the regulations is that anyone who operates a Forex Bureau must be a Ghanaian national.