The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has warned Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to be wary of currency hoarders who would be offloading money illegally stashed.
NPO had on Wednesday reported that, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, revealed the decision of the apex bank to redesign naira notes which will be made available from December 15, 2022.
The notes to be redesigned include; N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
Speaking on the development, the EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa in a statement on Thursday commended the move by the apex bank, saying it is “a well-considered and timely response” to the challenges of currency management in the country.
He said, “It is pertinent to issue this stern warning to Bureau de Change operators to be wary of currency hoarders who would attempt to use this opportunity to offload the currencies they had illegally stashed away.”
According to the EFCC boss, “the Commission would spare no effort to arrest and prosecute any financial services operator who violates extant laws and regulations.”
He called on operators in the Nigerian financial services sector, especially deposit money banks and bureau de change operators to work within the guidelines provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure seamless withdrawal of the old currency.
“EFCC will monitor the process to ensure that unscrupulous players and currency speculators and their cohorts among the BDCs do not undermine the exercise,” Bawa warned
He also charged banks to be alive to their reporting obligations and not assist unscrupulous customers in laundering suspected proceeds of crimes through their system.
The EFCC boss further pointed out that the objectives which the CBN seeks to achieve with the redesign and reissue of the higher denomination Naira notes, were in tandem with the objectives of the Money Laundering Prevention Prohibition Act 2022, which criminalizes the conduct of cash transactions above a certain threshold.
According to Section 2 (1) of the Money Laundering Act 2022 “No person or body corporate shall, except in a transaction through a financial institution, make or accept cash payment of a sum exceeding— (a) N5,000,000 or its equivalent, in the case of an individual ; or (b) N10,000,000 or its equivalent, in the case of a body corporate.”