The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has justified its decision to cease selling foreign exchange to Bureaux De Change (BDCs).
The apex bank alleged that that BDCs abet money laundering and other corrupt money practices
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Tuesday: “BDCs have turned themselves into agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek to conduct illicit funds flow and money laundering in Nigeria and we will go after all of them”.
Emefiele spoke in Abuja at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
The CBN, he said, had resolved that it “will no longer process or issue new licenses for BDC operations in the country. This stoppage extends to all licenses being currently processed, regardless of the stage of that processing”.
Emefiele also announced that the CBN “will henceforth, channel significant portion of its weekly allocations currently meant for BDCs to commercial banks to meet legitimate forex demand for ordinary Nigerians and businesses, whether for small scale imports, medical bills, educational expenditure, personal and business travels or any other legitimate needs as prescribed by the CBN’s Foreign Exchange Manual”.
He ordered all commercial banks in the country to “with immediate effect, create a dedicated teller point in designated branches for sale and disbursement of foreign exchange to customers, who desire FX for legitimate purposes”.
