CBN revokes operating licenses of 4,173 BDCs
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken decisive action by revoking the operational licenses of over 4,000 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, citing their failure to adhere to essential regulatory guidelines.
This move was announced in a statement signed by the Director of Corporate Communications at the apex bank.
The CBN, exercising its powers under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015, emphasized that the affected BDCs had not complied with specified regulatory provisions.
The non-compliance included issues such as delayed payment of necessary fees, failure to renew licenses within the stipulated period, and non-observance of guidelines, directives, and circulars, particularly in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.
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Additionally, the bank has published a list of the affected BDCs on its official website for the public.
It stated:
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in exercise of the powers conferred on it 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), has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators.
The list of affected BDC operators is available on the Bank’s website (www.cbn.gov.ng).”
“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.
1. Rendition of returns in line with the Guidelines.
2. 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.”
Furthermore, the bank noted it is currently revising the regulatory guidelines of BDCs and their operations and the public should take note of its current position.
