Modupe Gbadeyanka
**Releases Names Of Licenced Operators
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Worried by activities of illegal International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) in the country and determined to safeguard the hard-earned money of citizens, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has threatened to block accounts of such companies operating with approval.
To this effect, the Nigeria’s bankers’ bank has released names of companies registered and licenced to operate international money transfer in the country.
The CBN, in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, disclosed it took this step due to “increasing patronage” of illegal money transfer operators by Nigerians in the Diaspora for the purpose of home remittances.
Mr Okorafor noted that, “These unscrupulous operators, who lure unsuspecting customers with ridiculous exchange rate, use Naira accounts opened in local banks ostensibly for legal business to pay out the proceeds to the beneficiaries while channelling the foreign currencies to fund the parallel market.”
He explained that this practice has led to non-reporting of such transactions to relevant authorities thereby undermining effective surveillance of the sector as well as leading to discrepancies in statistics on the transactions between countries of origin of remittance and the destination country, Nigeria.
The CBN said against this background, Nigerians in the Diaspora are advised not to patronise unlicensed International Money Transfer Operators, as they stand the risk of losing their hard-earned money.
Similarly, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have been tasked to ensure painstaking conduct of ‘Know Your Customers’ Business’ (KYB) in order to prevent the use of accounts for illegal transactions and avoid regulatory sanctions.
In addition, such accounts, the CBN said, when discovered, will be blocked and the operators handed over to appropriate law enforcement agencies for prosecution.
The apex bank also said for the avoidance of doubt, as at November 9, 2016, the following are the International Money Transfer Operators licensed and authorised by the CBN to remit money to Nigeria on behalf of Nigerians in the Diaspora:
