Court jails BDC operators over unlicensed forex activities

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two Bureau De Change operators to five years in prison each for carrying out foreign exchange business without valid licences from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu convicted Isah Sulaiman, who operates as Sly Exclusive Multi Concept, and Aminu Abdullahi, alongside Ninext Multi-Ventures Ltd., following charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The court imposed an alternative fine of N2m on each convict.

Analysts say the convictions highlight the financial and regulatory risks facing operators that participate in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market without CBN authorisation, as authorities intensify efforts to bring currency trading under the formal regulatory framework.

The defendants were accused of conducting Bureau De Change business without the required CBN licence, an offence punishable under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020.

Abdullahi and Ninext Multi-Ventures were alleged to have operated without a licence between July 2021 and April 2026 in Abuja.

Both defendants had pleaded guilty and entered into plea bargain agreements with the EFCC. However, Justice Egwuatu rejected the proposed one-year sentence in Abdullahi’s case, ruling that it was inconsistent with the penalty prescribed by law.

The court subsequently imposed the five-year sentence, with the option of a N2m fine.

The development comes against the backdrop of the CBN’s efforts to strengthen oversight of the BDC segment and channel more foreign exchange transactions through regulated market participants.

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