CBN Revokes Licenses of Over 4,000 Bureaux De Change Operators

Confidence UbaniMarch 2, 20241 Mins read613

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has decisively revoked the operational licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators. This information was disclosed on the bank’s official X page on Friday.

Through a statement signed by CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Sidi Hakama, the CBN stated that its decision was due to he BDCs’ failure to adhere to regulatory provisions set by the central bank.

Hakama highlighted specific reasons for the license revocation, citing non-compliance with fee payments, including license renewal, within the stipulated period.

The affected BDCs were also accused of failing to submit required returns and, critically, not complying with guidelines related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.

The CBN, acting under the powers vested in it by the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015, said it was committed to revising regulatory and supervisory guidelines for BDC operations.

Compliance with the impending requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.

“The CBN is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria. Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective”, the statement partly read.

The list of the affected BDC operators is available on the CBN’s official website. The public is urged to take note and adhere to the forthcoming regulatory changes in the Bureaux De Change sector.