We Report Suspicious FX Transactions to Authorities—ABCON

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said it collaborates with government agencies to address illicit financial flows in the country.

The president of the group, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, while speaking in Lagos last week, said his members regularly report suspicious foreign exchange transactions to the appropriate authorities.

Recall that in 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped the sale of FX to BDCs over allegations that they aid financial terrorism as criminals use their channel to carry out trades that sabotage the nation.

But Mr Gwadabe said members of ABCON are complying with the rendition of suspicious transactions reports as directed by the CBN, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

He used the occasion to call for a more compact BDC segment of the forex market by merger for better management, saying the country does not need more operators.

There had been calls for the raising of the capital base of BDC operators from N35 million to N350 million, but the ABCON chief is suggesting a merger of at least 10 BDCs to form a new capital base to enhance the scope of operation and diversification of sources through various window and reduce regulatory pressures.

According to him, this system will prepare them for a higher role in the financial system, including handling diaspora remittances or other offshore funds attracted to the economy to deepen forex access at the retail end of the market.

“ABCON rejects reports calling for BDCs recapitalisation by a section of the media. The media quoted us out of context, and we are working to put a proper narrative.

“Instead of allowing each BDC to be recapitalised to the amount proposed by the Economic Advisory Committee, which will likely lead to the extinction of many of our members as it happened in 2014 when an outright review of the capital base was the only option,” he noted.

Mr Gwadabe urged the apex bank not to issue any license during the period to avoid venture capitalists taking over the business from the already skilful operators.