Our reporter/ The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday said an independent forensic review of the foreign exchange (FX) backlog revealed “grave infractions, gross abuse and noncompliance” with market rules.
CBN’s director of corporate communications, Hakama Sidi-Ali, who made the disclosure in a statement, assured that the culprits will be punished accordingly.
The discovery comes amid a probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the FX transactions of 52 companies.
The commission is said to be investigating FX allocations to these companies during the tenure of Godwin Emefiele as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Appropriate sanctions will be enforced on offenders, in collaboration with relevant agencies,” Sidi-Ali said.
“The central bank is committed to cleaning up the financial services industry to boost market confidence.”
Sidi-Ali, however, said the CBN would continue to settle legitimate FX backlogs and clear outstanding liabilities.
According to her, the apex bank has cleared the entire FX forwards liability of 14 banks so far, and settlements with foreign airlines have also now begun.
She said about $2 billion of the backlog across sectors such as manufacturing, aviation, and petroleum have been paid.
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