The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unleashed its inspectors on the money deposit banks in the country to ensure compliance with its recent directive banning cash deposits of dollars by customers, TheCitizen can report.
According to a reliable source at the apex bank, it had to send out its inspectors to visit money deposit banks to ascertain the level of compliance to its recent directive to banks not to accept cash deposits of dollars until further notice.
“We sent out inspectors to banks to be sure that they are complying with the directive as far as cash deposit of dollars is concerned.”
“The inspectors will continue to pay unscheduled visits to banks and anyone found wanting will be disciplined,” the source stated.
According TheCitizen findings, the CBN has gone further to compel the banks to return all dollar cash deposits that were boxed in the vaults of the banks to the owners with immediate effect.
In Nigeria, it is a norm that some customers of banks that have too much dollars in their possession for security reasons warehouse such cash in boxes in the banks.
But now, the CBN has directed that any dollars that has not been paid into an account before the circular should be returned to the owners immediately, thereby compounding the woes of high-net worth customers that have such huge amounts in boxes in the banks.
It was reliably gathered that forty-eight hours were given to banks to return the huge amounts of money running into millions of dollars to their owners.
“The implication is that there will be dollar surplus in the market which will hopefully appreciate the naira because how many people will risk keeping cash in their houses and offices,” said the source.
But a security expert, Wahab Adeyinka told TheCitizen that most of the rich men in Nigeria have underground vaults in their private homes where they keep money.
According to him, so many rich men in Nigeria have basements and it is money and other valuables they keep there and since it is the same set of people that box money in bank vaults, the anticipated impact of the ban on cash deposit of dollars might at the end of day be whittled down.
It could be recalled that the CBN had in a circular released on Wednesday and signed by the Director of Trade and Exchange, CBN, Olakanmi Gbadamosi, said its action followed recent statements by individual banks suspending the payment of foreign currencies into domiciliary accounts.
Gbadamosi wrote, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has considered the recent statements by Deposit Money Banks concerning the large volume of foreign currencies in their vaults and the decision to stop accepting foreign currency cash deposits into customers’ domiciliary accounts as a welcome development.
“Therefore, in its continued efforts to stop illicit financial flows in the Nigerian banking system which aligns with the anti-money laundering stance of the Federal Government, the CBN hereby prohibits from the date of this circular the acceptance of foreign currency cash deposits by DMBs.
“For foreign currency cash lodgements made prior to the date of this circular, the account holder has the option to either withdraw his or her foreign currency cash or the Naira equivalent. For the avoidance of doubt, only wire transfers to and from Domiciliary Accounts are henceforth permissible.
“The CBN advises individuals that wish to source foreign currency for eligible and legitimate purposes such as BTA, PTA medical, mortgage, school fees, goods etc. to do so through recognised channels with the use of Form ‘A’ for “invisible” and Form ‘M’ for ‘visible’ transactions. By this circular, those who deposited foreign currencies into their accounts before the directive will now have to withdraw the cash as they are not going to be allowed to transfer the funds.”
