Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of Nigeria’s central bank, announced on Friday that organizations engaged in fraudulent foreign exchange transactions would face consequences. This came after an audit assisted in reducing the backlog of payment claims to a “more manageable figure.”
A forensic investigation of the bank’s $7 billion foreign exchange backlog, which it has been finding difficult to resolve, revealed anomalies affecting transactions totaling $2.4 billion.
The irregularities included recipients obtaining unapproved foreign exchange allocations, non-existent businesses, and missing documents. Many questions have been raised regarding those who fall into the “infracted” category, which is something we are attentively examining.
Laptops 1000Those who are accountable will face the appropriate consequences,” Cardoso informed lawmakers during a parliamentary session on Friday.
The biggest economy in Africa is suffering from a severe dollar shortage that has caused its currency to fall to all-time lows in recent weeks, but Cardoso announced on Tuesday that dollar liquidity has begun to increase.
Central Bank Deputy Governor Muhammad Sani Abdullahi during the hearing mentioned that the bank is collaborating with law enforcement to take additional action against the criminals.
Approximately $2.5 billion of the backlog has been paid thus far in industries like manufacturing, energy, and aviation, leaving a $2.2 billion remaining. According to Cardoso, the bank has made progress in clearing a sizable portion of its outstanding foreign exchange backlog. He was not more specific.
