In its bid to sanitise the foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday, said it has revoked the licenses of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators.

The decision, the CBN said in a statement is in exercise of its powers under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change 2015 (the Guidelines).

The affected institutions, according to the statement by Sidi Ali, Hakama (Mrs.), Acting Director, Corporate Communications at the apex bank, failed to observe at least one regulatory provisions such as payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the Guidelines; Rendition of returns in line with the Guidelines; or comply with guidelines, directives and circulars of the CBN, particularly the Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.

The CBN, she stressed, “is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria,” adding that compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.