The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe has published its 2025 annual report, setting out a year in which its mandate was expanded to cover virtual assets and virtual asset service providers under Finance Act No. 7 of 2025, with registration effective from 1 January 2026. The report also gives a broad update on supervision, enforcement, market activity and the regulator's finances. SECZim reported total revenue of ZWG72.45 million, operating expenditure of ZWG65.32 million and a surplus of ZWG118,366 after a net monetary loss of ZWG7.02 million, alongside a USD1 million government grant used to acquire property at 2 Hendrikz Way, Avondale. On the regulatory side, the commission issued an amended Capital Adequacy Directive for Securities Market Intermediaries in November 2025 and AML/CFT guidelines on suspicious activity indicators and red flags in December 2025. Prudential and AML/CFT inspections identified weaknesses including board and governance deficiencies, the absence of internal audit arrangements, inaccurate financial statements, missing know-your-customer information, weak transaction monitoring, poor sanctions screening and policy gaps. SECZim imposed USD6,400 in AML/CFT penalties and USD5,200 in prudential penalties for late returns. The report says the regulator ended 2025 with 230 licensees, up from 220 a year earlier, while funds under management rose to ZWG98.16 billion and assets under custody to ZWG98.31 billion. The report says SECZim's immediate next steps include implementing the new registration framework for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers from 1 January 2026 and continuing work to operationalise the Capital Market Institute established through its agreement with the National University of Science and Technology.

Original source Back to tracker