The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators.
The announcement, made in a statement on Friday by the bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Sidi Ali Hakama, cited the operators’ failure to adhere to regulatory provisions as the primary reason behind the revocation.
CBN emphasised that this action is a crucial step towards restoring confidence in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
The list of affected BDC operators is now available on the CBN’s official website.
Also, the apex bank is in the process of revising regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria. Compliance with these new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector.
The bank clarified that the decision to revoke licenses is in line with the powers conferred upon it by the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015.
These guidelines encompass obligations such as timely payment of all necessary fees, including license renewal, adherence to stipulated periods, and compliance with CBN directives, particularly in areas such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.
