The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has refuted a front-page news story of Business Day which claims that faceless agents pocket over N32bn annually in profit from the foreign exchange market with the aid of CBN officials.
The regulator in a statement by its Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okoroafor, unequivocally described the report as “unfounded and untrue and challenges Businessday to provide the names and also verifiable evidence of collusion between these faceless agents and officials of the CBN, who are working to perpetuate these so called Fx racket schemes.”
The full text of the statement reads: “The CBN has been alerted on the front page headline story in Business Day on Monday, February 4, 2019 titled, “Exposed The Sleazy Face of N306/$, inside Nigeria’s racket where faceless agents pocket over N32bn annually”.
The management of the CBN wishes to react to the report wherein Business Day newspapers alleges that faceless agents in Nigeria are exploiting the country’s multiple exchange rate to devastating effects and allegedly with the backing of regulators.
The CBN wishes to state unequivocally that this report is unfounded and untrue and challenges Business Day to provide the names and also verifiable evidence of collusion between these faceless agents and officials of the CBN, who are working to perpetuate these so called Fx racket schemes. We would also urge the management of Business Day to contact the CBN prior to making such spurious allegations, as we were denied the benefit of responding to this article.
The CBN wishes to remind Business Day as most financial observers have noted, that the Fx rates across various markets governed and regulated by the CBN, have been converging, leaving no room for arbitrage opportunities in Nigeria’s Fx market.
For avoidance of doubt, the CBN will continue to act in the best interest of Nigeria and shall ensure it remains focused on its core mandate of sustaining the stability in the FX market.” (NAN)
