CBN launched a disguised audit to clean BDCS, FX Market after CBEX Scandal Rocks Nigerians

The Nigerian central bank has issued a strong warning to Operator Bureau de Change (BDC) which is licensed nationally, vowing to impose severe sanctions on those who fail to comply with the anti -money laundering financing regulations and terrorism.

The instructions occurred after the CBEX financial disaster, where thousands of Nigerians who were not suspicious were captivated into cheating foreign exchange transactions, at the cost of millions of naira. This case has given the spotlight on the long -standing gap in regulations and the vulnerability of many Nigerians who are looking for alternative forex platforms amid the volatile economic and naira uncertainty.

In a circular dated April 17, 2025, and signed by Ammonia Opusunju for the Director of the Compliance Department, Bank Apex announced the start of “Mystery Shopping.”

This is a strategy that involves the distribution of disguised compliance examiners to assess real time compliance with regulatory guidelines by BDC.

“This initiative will complement existing supervision activities, including routine and targeted inspection, as well as spot checks,” said CBN.
“Mystery spending will involve the spread of anonymous compliance examiners to assess the practical implementation of anti -money laundering/combat terrorism financing and proliferation financing obligations.”

This obligation, CBN stated, includes a tight-consultation (KYC), identification procedures, and suspicious transaction reporting, factors that are often ignored by operators who want to conduct Bypass supervision.

Also read: EFCC Responding to CBEX N1.3TN Fraud, Strengthening Warnings to the Ponzi Scheme

The bank underlined that compliance with the Money Laundering Law (Prevention and Prohibition), 2022, Terrorism Act (Prevention and Prohibition), 2022, and Guidelines for Regulations and Supervision for Bureau Change Operators, 2024, cannot be negotiated. Operators fail to be able to face monetary punishment, revocation of licenses, or criminal prosecution.

“To avoid doubts,” said CBN, “Full responsibility for compliance leaning on each BDC licensed.”

For many Nigerians, the fall of CBEX is more than just a warning story, it is a personal tragedy.
This situation emphasizes the urgency of CBN’s new supervision, especially in the digital economy where scammers often imitate authentic BDC, exploit weak supervision, and prey on the despair of citizens who seek financial stability.

With the FX Nigerian crisis that does not show signs of subside and requests for foreign currencies beyond supply, informal forex markets have developed rapidly. BDC, was originally designed to serve the needs of small -scale forex, now sitting in a complex ecosystem center, which has been regulated loosely which has become a fertile foundation for fraud, prohibited transactions, and currency speculation.

However, without consistent law enforcement and meaningful reform, risks to Nigerians everyday will survive. CBN steps to launch mystery spending may be a step in the right direction but careful must be done because the spot examination alone will not repair a damaged system.

To truly protect the public, CBN must invest in training, transparency, and real-time reporting tools and most importantly, rebuilding public trust.

When the country continues to recover from the CBEX ripple effect and other forex-related frauds, residents are urged to be careful, verify platforms, and only deal with licensed and transparent BDC operators.

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