The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will begin mystery shopping exercises across bureau de change (BDC) outlets to strengthen compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
The CBN spoke in a circular to all licensed BDC operators, signed by Amonia Opusunju, director of compliance department, on Thursday.
Mystery Shopping is a technique used by companies to evaluate service quality, compliance with regulations, and gather information on specific products.
The apex bank said the move is part of its enhanced oversight of illicit financial flows in the country.
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The CBN said the exercise would involve deploying undercover compliance officers to assess how well the BDCs are implementing key regulatory requirements such as customer identification, know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, and reporting of suspicious transactions.
The apex bank said the exercises will commence with immediate effect.
“BDC operators are reminded that they are required to fully comply with the provisions of – money laundering (prevention and prohibition) Act, 2022. Terrorism (prevention and prohibition) Act, 2022, regulatory and supervisory guidelines for bureau de change operators in Nigeria, 2024,” CBN said.
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“Any other relevant laws, regulations, and guidelines issued by the CBN and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).”
The bank warned that any operator found to be in breach of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT/CPF) frameworks will face sanctions, including monetary penalties and possible revocation of licences.
“All BDCs are advised to ensure that their operations, staff training, transaction monitoring, and customer onboarding procedures are always fully compliant with applicable requirements,” the apex bank said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, full responsibility for compliance rests with each licensed BDC.”
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On February 27, 2024, the financial regulator approved the sale of foreign exchange (FX) to BDC operators, reversing its decision to halt FX sale to the BDCs in 2021.
A year later, CBN introduced new regulations limiting BDC operators to purchasing a maximum of $25,000 per week from a single bank.
