About 300 companies including Bureau de Change operators have been sanctioned or had their accounts frozen over forex infractions.
The President, Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwade, disclosed this to our correspondent on Monday, in a telephone interview.
The CBN had on Friday instructed banks to place a post-no-debit on the bank accounts of 38 companies.
Gwadebe said, “Those ones are the ones that are involved in some certain infractions. Some of them are not licensed to partake in foreign exchange business; some of them sold to unauthorised buyers.
“That sanction has been going on since last year. Over 300 companies and Bureau de Change operators have been penalised, and their accounts put on hold since last year.
“They are doing it in batches. CBN now has a robust way of tracking transactions.”
He said the CBN had warned the operators in a circular that they should strictly follow documentation in saving their money and that, anybody found not to follow those directives could even get their licence revoked.
The CBN, in a circular to the banks on September 4, instructed the freezing of 38 companies.
Part of the circular read, “You are hereby required to place the under listed accounts on post-no-debit with immediate effect and revert with the account names, numbers, currencies and balances of all accounts placed on PND.”
A post-no-debit means that all debit transactions, including ATMs and cheques, on the accounts have been blocked but money can be deposited into the accounts.
Some of the affected companies are Premier Lotto Limited, 3D Scanners Bureau De Change Limited, Blue Wall Nigeria Limited, JNFX International Limited and Northline Limited.
Others are SV Gaming Limited, R&S Lotto Limited, TM Gaming Networks Limited, Escale Oil and Gas Limited, Barkoli Trading Company Limited, Godoni Enterprises Limited.
The apex bank said only the listed companies should be placed on PND adding that all related accounts be excluded.
– Punch