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CBN Revokes Operational Licenses Of 4,173 BDCs - CHANNELS
According to the apex bank, the move is part of efforts to restore confidence in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators, accusing the affected institutions of failing to observe regulatory provisions.
This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by the bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali Hakama.
According to the apex bank, the move is part of efforts to restore confidence in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
Noting that the list of affected BDC operators is available on its website, the CBN said it is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria, adding that compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector.
It stated that the action is an 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 Guidelines).
These, according to the bank, include payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with Guidelines, rendition of returns in line with the Guidelines, and 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 naira has been on a free fall against the dollar in the past weeks with the currency losing value against the greenback.
Nigeria is battling rising inflation, forex crisis, economic hardship and high cost of living occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy, attracting protests in parts of the country.
The naira has suffered an all-time low since the new administration floated the currency and unified the exchange rate windows. The Nigerian currency moved from over N700/$1 in May 2023 to more than N1500/$1 at the moment.
The situation forced the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to raise a 7,000-man special task force across its 14 zonal commands to clamp down on dollar racketeers.
Unpatriotic
The CBN had accused the crypto platform Binance of manipulating the country’s fiat currency, the Nigerian naira, which according to the apex bank is contributing to the ongoing decline of the currency in the forex market.
Binance, a digital assets platform, serves as a window for peer to peer transaction allowing users to advertise interest to sell or buy currencies of their choice.
According to reports, the Federal Government slammed a $10 billion fine on the crypto trading platform, over allegations of influencing the country’s forex crisis.
Speaking during an interview on BBC on Friday, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Binance profited substantially from its “illegal transactions” in Nigeria while the nation suffered huge losses.
He alleged that people used the platform to arbitrarily fix dollar-naira rates; a practice he said negatively impacted the value of the local currency. The presidential aide also claimed that Binance is not registered in Nigeria and has no presence in the country.
According to Onanuga, Binance team was already cooperating with the Nigerian government by providing useful information, and had already suspended naira-related transactions on the platform.
