Skip to main content

Nigerian Central Bank Stops Forex Sales to Bureaus de Change — Operators Accused of Feeding Black Market

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced the abrupt end to sales and outsourcing of foreign exchange to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators after accusing them of failing to stick to their core mandate. Instead of providing forex to retail users, BDCs are believed to be supplying the scarce resource to so-called “illegal” dealers.

BDC Operators Accused of Fueling Parallel Market Activity

The illegal dealers, in turn, avail the foreign exchange to clients at parallel market exchange rates. For instance, while the CBN insists that the naira’s exchange rate against the USD is currently pegged at around N411 for every dollar, parallel market dealers use an exchange rate of N500 for every dollar.

Explaining the rationale behind CBN’s decision to end forex sales to BDCs, governor Godwin Emefiele suggested that operators had been profiteering at the expense of suffering Nigerians. Therefore, the CBN’s intervention is aimed at putting an end to this practice. Emefiele explained:

This measure is not punitive on anyone, but it is to ensure the CBN is able to carry out its legitimate mandate of serving all Nigerians.

Commercial Banks Warned

As a consequence of Emefiele’s announcement, the CBN “will no longer process applications for BDC licences in the country.” On the other hand, the CBN’s weekly sales of foreign exchange will now “go directly to commercial banks.”

In the meantime, Emefiele also used his speech, which was delivered following the conclusion of the CBN monetary policy committee meeting, to remind commercial banks that the central bank will “deal ruthlessly” with any institution that allows “illegal forex dealers to use their platforms.”

Emefiele also blasted international bodies, including embassies and donor agencies for being complicit in what he calls “illegal forex transactions that have hindered the flow of foreign exchange into the country.”

Do you think ending forex sales to Bureaus de Change alone will help to stop the flow of money to the parallel market? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/3f6Qtob
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Web Roundup: Dream Adds Monero and Bitcoin Tumbler “Chip Mixer” Launches

The darknet has been quiet of late, which is the way it’s meant to be. No news means no mega busts, honeypots, or mass market shutdowns. Even when it’s out of the spotlight though, the deep web is quietly making news, whether trialling the latest privacy coins or the newest coin mixers that promise to restore a little of the privacy that’s being stripped away from bitcoin users on a daily basis. Also read: U.S. Agency ICE Conducts Investigations That Exploit Blockchain Activity The Battle for Privacy Heats Up Privacy is all relative, but of late there’s been relatively little privacy to be enjoyed by bitcoin users. Blockchain monitoring software is becoming more sophisticated and more common, with U.S. law enforcement agencies using it to profile and hunt down deep web users. Chip Mixer is a relatively new bitcoin tumbler that’s designed to restore some of that privacy. Available on both the clearnet and darknet, the service uses a variety of techniques to obfuscate blockchain m...
10 comments
Read more

Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently. Spanish Ombudsman Gives His Take on Crypto Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested. The report states : Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems. The affected users that sought...
Post a Comment
Read more

2021 Bitcoin Price Predictions: Analysts Forecast BTC Values Will Range Between Zero to $600K

As bitcoin has touched new price highs on Thursday nearing the $50k handle, people have been curious as to where the price will go in the future. Meanwhile, despite the gains so far, a number of luminaries, analysts, executives, and proponents from the crypto space believe the leading crypto asset will reach between $60k to six-digits this year. Mike Novogratz Predicts $100K Bitcoin: ‘Other CFOs and CEOs Are Saying, What Should We Be Doing?’ Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention has gained mass appeal in recent times as the leading digital asset bitcoin ( BTC ) has reached its highest value ever in 2021. On Thursday morning (EST), BTC spiked to an all-time high (ATH) at $48,697 per unit. Earlier in the morning at around 2 a.m., bitcoin was exchanging hands for $44,485 and saw an 8.98% increase since then. At the time of publication, at 6:30 p.m. (EST) on February 11, 2021, bitcoin (BTC) is swapping for $47,821 per coin. With BTC so close to the $50k mark, people have been forecasting ...
Post a Comment
Read more