The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the licences of 4,173 Bureaux De Change operators in the country.
Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mrs. Sidi Ali, Hakama who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, March 1, 2024, said, the regulatory action was in exercise of the powers conferred on the apex bank 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).
According to her, 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.
She explained that the CBN was revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines
for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria, noting that compliance with the new requirements would be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.
She, therefore, urged members of the public to take note and be guided accordingly.
She added that the list of affected BDC operators is available on the Bank’s website.
