Naira Fall: EFCC threatens to arrest dollar hoarders

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa has threatened to arrest Nigerians hoarding dollars and other foreign currency.

On Friday, August 5 The Chairman of the anti-graft agency, made this statement at a meeting with representatives of Bureau De Change operators in Abuja.

This comes after the anti-graft agency’s ongoing efforts to check rising cases of foreign exchange speculation, which had brought pressure on the value of the naira.

“The Commission has intelligence linking some persons and organisations to hoarding foreign currencies, especially the United States dollars, in key commercial cities of Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Calabar.

We warn those involved to desist or risk arrest as a major offensive against the speculators is underway,” he said.

Bawa also give warning to people who are in the habit of hoarding forex to stop or risk arrest as a major offensive against the speculators was underway.

He also said the meeting was hold to fish out a collaborative stakeholders’ response to brazen foreign exchange speculation, especially at the parallel market, which was hurting the country’s monetary policy by instigating a decline in the value of the naira.

However, The anti-graft organization noted that same meetings are arranged for Bureau de Change operators in other major commercial cities over the country, including key players, regulators and operators within the Nigerian financial sector.

The dollars has continued to rise in Nigeria’s black market since the beginning of August. Last week, the naira traded at N710 to the dollar in the parallel market. This forced the EFCC to raid some forex markets in Abuja, which saw the currency return to its pre-speculated value.

A few days after security personnel stormed a Bureaux De Change (BDC) hub in Abuja, the naira continued to strengthen on the black-market, moving to N660 per dollar.

Originally posted 2022-08-06 16:22:31.