The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that gross foreign exchange sales to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country have been halted. The governor of the apex financial institution, Godwin Emefiele, said this at the end of the financial coverage committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to Emefiele, the apex financial institution receives over 5,000 functions for BDC registration per month, and the operators are working to dollarize the Nigerian financial system.
BDC operators, according to the CBN governor, have become a conduit for illegal monetary flows, partnering with corrupt persons to launder money in Nigeria.
“They’ve turned themselves away from their goals,” he stated.
“They’re now brokers that facilitate graft and corruption within the nation.
“We can’t proceed with the unhealthy practices which can be occurring on the BDC market.”
Emefiele went on to say that there is proof of the same promoters owning a number of BDCs in order to obtain a number of fx from the central bank.
“BDC is used by a lot of international organizations, embassies, and illegal foreign exchange sellers to support their operations,” he noted.
“We are going to deal ruthlessly with Nigerian banks that take care of unlawful BDCs and we are going to report overseas organisations patronising them.”
He stated the CBN will henceforth channel weekly allocations of greenback gross sales to business banks to fulfill reliable fx calls for.