{"id":10897,"date":"2017-02-16T08:32:27","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T07:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=10897"},"modified":"2017-02-16T08:32:27","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T07:32:27","slug":"agf-malami-queries-emefiele-on-alleged-forex-fraud-in-cbn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/agf-malami-queries-emefiele-on-alleged-forex-fraud-in-cbn\/","title":{"rendered":"AGF Malami queries Emefiele on alleged Forex fraud in CBN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said there are corruption allegations in the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s foreign exchange allocation and transactions.<\/p>\n

Malami added, on Wednesday, the fraud allegations were \u201csupported by several documents.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a subtle query issued by Malami to the Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, demanding \u201cprompt response\u201d to the allegations.<\/p>\n

Malami\u2019s letter, dated February 6, 2017, and with reference number, HAGF\/CBN\/2017\/VOL.1\/1, was sighted with an official, close to the legal unit of the apex bank.<\/p>\n

The letter, in polite terms and without giving any ultimatum, asked Emefiele to respond to the allegations \u201cto enable us to advise the Presidency and take appropriate measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Titled \u2018allegations of racketeering in the Central Bank of Nigeria; disparity in allocation of foreign exchange\u2019, and addressed to Emefiele, the letter was delivered to the CBN governor\u2019s office on Monday.<\/p>\n

The minister, in the letter, said he became aware of the corruption allegations through several petitions.<\/p>\n

Four major allegations contained in Malami\u2019s letter to Emefiele include alleged corruption in the apex bank\u2019s \u201cforeign exchange allocation transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second is \u201cquestionable policy\u201d in the apex bank\u2019s allocation and sale of foreign currency to Nigerians.<\/p>\n

The third is the issue of \u201carbitrary allotment of different exchange rates for same purposes\u201d by the CBN.<\/p>\n

The last is allocation of conflicting foreign exchange rates by the CBN.<\/p>\n

The letter partly read, \u201cSome of these petitions have been supported by several documents allegedly showing that the central bank has implemented a questionable policy in its allocation and sale of foreign currency to Nigerians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is further alleged that this arbitrary allotment of different exchange rates for same purposes at the same time is being pursued as policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria. See attached documents from Leadershipng publication.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso attached is a report of the October 2016, allocation of conflicting foreign exchange rates by the central bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn view of these allegations of corruption and arbitrary allocations of foreign exchange to a certain class of persons, you are kindly requested to comment on these allegations to enable us to advise the Presidency and take appropriate measures as may be dictated by the circumstances of the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media reports, relying on the document tiled \u2018Bank utilisation report on 60:40 rule for October 2016\u2019, which was attached to Malami\u2019s letter sent to the CBN governor, had raised allegations of corruption and the implementation of questionable foreign exchange allocation policy.<\/p>\n

In October 2016, alone, as revealed by the document, no pattern or template could be deciphered to have been used in calculating the exchange rates.<\/p>\n

The criteria used in selecting the firms or sectors for which certain volume of foreign exchange was allocated and at what rate could not be pinned to any template.<\/p>\n

The 1,312-page document revealed the names of various customers, their corresponding addresses, form numbers, amount allocated to them (in United States dollars), the items or purposes, the sector and the banks used for the month of October alone.<\/p>\n

It shows how some companies and individuals got foreign exchange in US dollars at the rates as low as low as N0.61 to $1 while others got it in rates that were as high as N470 to $1.<\/p>\n

For instance, an individual got $4,327 at the rate of N23.34 to $1 through \u201ccredit card payment\u201d for \u201cinvisible\u201d purpose and under \u201cinvisible sector\u201d.<\/p>

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A bank also got $3,589.11 at the rate of N3.19 to $1 also for \u201cinvisible\u201d purposes and under \u201cinvisible\u201d sector.<\/p>\n

There was a transaction involving sale of $66.72 at the rate of N0.62 to $1.<\/p>\n

There was also a sale of $5.56 to a company at the rate of N0.61 also for \u201cinvisible\u201d purposes.<\/p>\n

A particular transaction also involved the sale of $570.8 at the rate N3.17.<\/p>\n

In contrast, there was a company, who purchased $1,462,480.83 at the rate of N425 to $1.<\/p>\n

The document shows that individuals and companies got foreign exchange for purposes ranging from importation, PTA, school fees, \u201cinvisible\u201d, family maintenance allowances, mortgage payments and medical travel among others.<\/p>\n

But the CBN had debunked the allegations in a publication posted on its website on January 30, 2017.<\/p>\n

The publication titled \u2018CBN clarifies alleged wrong FOREX purchase figures\u2019, was signed by the apex bank\u2019s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor.<\/p>\n

The bank stated that it neither allocated foreign exchange nor did it deal directly with bank customers.<\/p>\n

Insisting that its forex policy was transparent, the apex bank also said it was not responsible for fixing FOREX rates for transactions by individuals or companies.<\/p>\n

The statement read, \u201cFollowing\u00a0 media\u00a0 reports alleging\u00a0 irregularities\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 rates\u00a0 at\u00a0 which foreign\u00a0 exchange\u00a0 was\u00a0 obtained\u00a0 by\u00a0 some individuals\u00a0 and\u00a0 companies from\u00a0 different Deposit\u00a0 Money\u00a0 Banks under\u00a0 the new\u00a0 [60:40] Foreign\u00a0 Exchange\u00a0 Policy\u00a0 by\u00a0 the Central\u00a0 Bank\u00a0 of\u00a0 Nigeria,\u00a0 which prioritises\u00a0 FOREX\u00a0 sales\u00a0 to\u00a0 manufacturers, agriculture,\u00a0 plant\u00a0 and machinery,\u00a0 critical\u00a0 raw materials,\u00a0 among\u00a0 others,\u00a0 we\u00a0 wish\u00a0 to\u00a0 make the following\u00a0 clarifications:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0 Central Bank\u00a0 of\u00a0 Nigeria\u00a0 neither\u00a0 allocates\u00a0 foreign exchange nor\u00a0 does\u00a0 it\u00a0 deal\u00a0 directly\u00a0 with\u00a0 bank customers;<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CBN does not fix FOREX rates for\u00a0 transactions\u00a0 by\u00a0 individuals or companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn\u00a0 line\u00a0 with\u00a0 our\u00a0 principle\u00a0 of transparency,\u00a0 we\u00a0 directed\u00a0 DMBs\u00a0 to forward to\u00a0 us\u00a0 evidence\u00a0 of\u00a0 FOREX\u00a0 sale\u00a0 to\u00a0 end users\u00a0 and\u00a0 to advertise\u00a0 same\u00a0 in\u00a0 national dailies.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince\u00a0 the\u00a0 introduction\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 new FOREX\u00a0 Policy\u00a0 in\u00a0 2016,\u00a0 we\u00a0 have published, monthly,\u00a0 the\u00a0 evidence\u00a0 of\u00a0 sale\u00a0 from\u00a0 DMBs, as\u00a0 received from\u00a0 the\u00a0 banks\u00a0 and\u00a0 without\u00a0 any alteration\u00a0 by\u00a0 us\u00a0 in\u00a0 the\u00a0 spirit\u00a0 of transparency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0 have\u00a0 recently\u00a0 observed,\u00a0 however,\u00a0 that some DMBs forwarded\u00a0 inaccurate\u00a0 data, which\u00a0 were\u00a0 erroneously published\u00a0 and\u00a0 gave a\u00a0 wrong\u00a0 impression\u00a0 of\u00a0 disparate rates;<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DMBs involved in providing inaccurate data\u00a0 have\u00a0 since\u00a0 been issued\u00a0 queries accordingly.\u00a0 Some\u00a0 have\u00a0 returned\u00a0 a response, indicating\u00a0 that\u00a0 some\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 figures were related\u00a0 to formatting errors, which\u00a0 do not\u00a0 affect\u00a0 the\u00a0 true\u00a0 rates\u00a0 of\u00a0 the\u00a0 affected transactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs\u00a0 the\u00a0 constitutionally\u00a0 authorised\u00a0 industry regulator,\u00a0 mandated\u00a0 to manage\u00a0 the\u00a0 FOREX market,\u00a0 maintain\u00a0 external\u00a0 reserves\u00a0 and\u00a0 to safeguard\u00a0 the\u00a0 international\u00a0 value\u00a0 of\u00a0 the legal\u00a0 tender\u00a0 currency,\u00a0 we\u00a0 wish to\u00a0 state unequivocally\u00a0 that\u00a0 the\u00a0 CBN\u00a0 has\u00a0 a\u00a0 duty\u00a0 to perform\u00a0 and\u00a0 would not\u00a0 indulge \u00a0in\u00a0 acts capable\u00a0 of\u00a0 discrediting\u00a0 the FOREX\u00a0 market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u00a0 therefore\u00a0 wish\u00a0 to\u00a0 reiterate\u00a0 that\u00a0 the\u00a0 sale of\u00a0 FOREX\u00a0 under\u00a0 the\u00a0 new policy\u00a0 is\u00a0 most transparent\u00a0 and\u00a0 it\u00a0 is\u00a0 not\u00a0 intended\u00a0 to\u00a0 benefit any individual\u00a0 or\u00a0 corporate\u00a0 body\u00a0 in\u00a0 anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Culled from Punch Newspaper<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said there are corruption allegations in the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s foreign exchange allocation and transactions. Malami added, on Wednesday, the fraud allegations were \u201csupported by several documents.\u201d According to a subtle query issued by Malami to the Governor of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,17],"tags":[1561],"coauthors":[2392,2393],"class_list":["post-10897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-crime","category-news","tag-agf"],"yoast_head":"\nAGF Malami queries Emefiele on alleged Forex fraud in CBN - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/agf-malami-queries-emefiele-on-alleged-forex-fraud-in-cbn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AGF Malami queries Emefiele on alleged Forex fraud in CBN - National Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said there are corruption allegations in the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s foreign exchange allocation and transactions. 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