By Goodluck B Ikiebe
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operational licenses of 4,173 Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators.
The bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Sidi Ali Hakama, in a statement on Friday, March 1, 2024, stated that the affected BDCs failed to observe regulatory provisions.
CBN said: “The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions:
(a). Payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the Guidelines.
(b). Rendition of returns in line with the Guidelines.
(c). Compliance with guidelines, directives and circulars of the CBN, particularly Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.
“The CBN is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria. Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective. Members of the public are hereby advised to take note and be guided accordingly.”
The apex bank stated that the action was in exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015.
The apex bank has recently embarked on sustained efforts to stabilise the foreign exchange market which has impacted negatively on the nation’s economy.
The apex bank along with the nation’s security agencies have launched counter-efforts to apprehend those considered as manipulating the forex market.
Our Correspondent reports that of recent, several BDC operators have been arrested and jailed. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has put several BDC operators on trial for fraud or operating without valid licences.
Last week, a Development Expert and Chairman of SOWENON group, a non governmental organisation, Dr Sam Olufemi Jenfa, has called on the government to adopt a radical policy to correct the foreign exchange policy in order to stabilize the local currency.
