EFCC threatens to clamp down on ‘Forex hoarders’

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EFCC threatens to clamp down on ‘Forex hoarders’

EFCC has threatened to begin a clampdown on Forex hoarders whose activities are said to be contributing to the crash in the value of naira.

EFCC has threatened to begin a clampdown on Forex hoarders whose activities are said to be contributing to the crash in the value of naira.

The commission’s chair, Abdulrasheed Bawa, issued the threat at a meeting with representatives of Bureau de Change operators in Abuja on Friday.

According to a statement by EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, the commission has identified Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Calabar as the hotspots of dollar hoarders in Nigeria.

“Bawa who also disclosed that the commission has intelligence linking some persons and organisations to the hoarding of foreign currencies especially the United States dollars in the key commercial cities of Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Calabar, however warned those involved to desist or risk arrest as a major offensive against the speculators is underway,” the commission’s statement read in part.

The meeting between the EFCC chair and BDC operators’ representatives was part of the commission’s efforts to check the rising foreign exchange speculation which has brought pressure on the value of the naira.

The meeting was called by Mr Bawa to devise a collaborative response to foreign exchange speculation, especially in the parallel market, which is said to be contributing to the loss of value of the naira.

In the past weeks, Forex speculators and currency exchangers have been blamed for contributing to the free fall in the value of the naira which has slumped over the last few weeks.

The EFCC, about a week ago, invaded a hub of BDC operators in the Wuse zone 4 Abuja to arrest currency speculators who are alleged to be massively mopping up available foreign currencies.

Cooperation

At the meeting with Mr Bawa on Friday, the BDC operators thanked the commission for the invitation.

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They expressed optimism at the naira’s rebound, which began after the EFCC’s raid.

Similar meetings are planned for other Bureau de Change operators in the major commercial cities across Nigeria as well as with key players, regulators, and operators of the Nigerian financial sector.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Bawa met with the Comptroller General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Idris Jere, on Thursday, over the foreign exchange crisis in the country.

But the details of what was tagged as a strategy meeting have yet to be released.


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