Nigeria’s apex bank revokes liceses of 4,173 Bureau De Change operators

As part of moves to sanitise the Nigerian forex market, Nigeria’s apex bank, the CBN, has revoked the working licences of more than 4,000 Bureau De Change operators. The central bank said the affected institutions failed to observe its regulations” in their operations…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it has revoked the licences of over 4,000 Bureau De Change operators for violating operation regulations.

Sidi Ali Hakama, spokesperson for CBN, announced in a statement on Friday that the CBN “has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators,” adding that “affected institutions failed to observe its regulations” in their operations.

The apex bank noted that the regulation includes payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines; rendition of returns in line with the guidelines; 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.

Nigeria is facing tough economic realities with the inflation rate nearing 30%.

In recent times, the government cracked down heavily on the activities of the cryptocurrency trading website, Binance and also detained its top officials as part of efforts to curb volatility in the forex market.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the activities of the firm will destroy the Nigerian economy if left alone to operate at will.