Black Market Operators Threaten FX Stability—ABCON

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators in Nigeria (ABCON) has declared operators of foreign exchange (forex) at the black market as a threat.

President of the group, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, said efforts must be made to frustrate the operations of the hawkers of FX on the streets because they are economic sabotage.

The ABCON chief, while speaking at a sensitisation programme, said licenced Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators must, therefore, set a good example in their operational modalities and make forex buyers lose confidence in black market dealers.

However, he assured that an operational war would be waged against forex speculators and black market dealers because they are responsible for distorting the Naira exchange rate against the Dollar and other global currencies.

According to Mr Gwadabe, this action is necessary because the BDCs will not allow FX speculators and street hawkers to take over BDC business in Nigeria through their illegal practices.

“Please, now is the time to support the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to achieve a stable exchange rate.

“Do not allow forex speculators, street hawkers to take over our business.

“Constantly comply with CBN’s regulations on the rendition of returns and corporate governance practices [to help stabilise] the Naira,” he said at the virtual meeting with members of the association across all the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.

The ABCON president, while speaking further at the event themed ABCON Sensitisation Against Volatility in the Exchange Rate, advised every BDC operator to have full knowledge and understanding of how to raise and submit both the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) to regulators, understand the obligation of registering and filing reports on the NFIU goAML -Anti-Money Laundering portal and proper documentation of all forex sales.

He also urged them to file their reports as and when due on weekly basis to Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, the CBN, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Know Your Customer (KYC) and due diligence reports.

Mr Gwadabe charged the over 5,000 members of the association to adhere strictly to regulations as they could be spot-checked by the CBN examiners at any time.

“Be vigilant in your operations because you can be spot-checked by the CBN examiners at any time. All BDCs should appoint Compliance Officers and Data Protection Officers as directed by the CBN which is also in-line with the global best practices,” he said meeting held simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Onitsha, Benin, among others.