By Abimbola Abdullahi
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stopped the sale of foreign exchange (forex) to Bureau De Change operators (BDCs) across the country.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who made the disclosure on Tuesday at the end of the monetary policy committee’s meeting in Abuja.
Emefiele said the BDC operators have become a channel for illegal financial flows, saying they have collided with corrupt people to launder money in Nigeria.
He said, henceforth, the apex bank would sell forex to deserving Nigerians through the commercial banks.
He said that the decision was informed by the unwholesome business practices of the BDCs, which he said had continued to put enormous pressure on the naira.
”The BDCs were regulated to sell a maximum of 5000 dollars per day, but CBN observed that they have since been flouting that regulation and selling millions of dollars per day.
“The CBN also observed that the BDCs aid illicit financial flows and other financial crimes. The bank has thus, decided to discontinue the sale of forex to the BDCs with immediate effect.
“We shall, henceforth, channel all forex allocation through the commercial banks,” he said.
He urged the commercial banks to ensure that every deserving customer got their forex demand, adding that any bank found circumventing the new system would be sanctioned.
“Once a customer presents all required documentation to purchase forex, the commercial banks should ensure they get the forex.
“Any customer that is denied should contact the CBN on 0700385526 or through the email- [email protected] ” he said.
