EFCC raids bureau de change operators in Abuja
After concerns had been raised regarding the depletion of the naira, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday raided Wuse Zone 4, home to most bureaux de change (BDC) operators in Abuja, the federal capital territory (FCT).
There has lately been a massive decline in the value of the Naira, with the currency presently exchanging for over N700 to a dollar.
The naira on Tuesday appreciated against the dollar at the parallel market as it continues to recover from the record fall in value witnessed last week. The rise in value comes few days after the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided Bureaux De Change hub in Abuja.
The raid was said to be the product of weeks of surveillance during which agents of the EFCC monitored the activities of most of the bureau de change operators in the Wuse 4 axis.
An informed source said it was a planned operation to dislodge currency speculators, who were alleged to be massively mopping up available foreign currencies, especially the dollar.
The anti-graft agency was understood to be working on intelligence that some elements with massive naira inflow had mobilized resources and were busy buying up available foreign currencies, especially the United States dollar, that they intended to either hoard or smuggle out of Nigeria.
Some operatives or officials of the Commission have been dispatched in different cities and a confirmed source said it was a coordinated nationwide operation that would be extended to all the major commercial cities like Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The visit by the EFCC to the Lagos bureaux de change (BDC) hubs comes barely five days after a raid on BDCs in Abuja.
The raid, conducted in other locations across the country, was undertaken days after the CBN blamed currency speculators for exacerbating the crash of the Naira against the Dollar and other foreign currencies
When the ICIR contacted the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwajuren, for his comments on the matter, he replied “there would be an official response to the issue later.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had earlier today issued a statement warning Nigerians on the activities of market speculators following the deep crash yesterday of the naira against the dollar, hitting an all-time low of N710 to the American currency, and dealing a massive blow to businesses and the overall economy.
However, the naira has remained stable at N420/$1 on the official market.
After concerns had been raised regarding the depletion of the naira, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday raided Wuse Zone 4, home to most bureaux de change (BDC) operators in Abuja, the federal capital territory (FCT).
There has lately been a massive decline in the value of the Naira, with the currency presently exchanging for over N700 to a dollar.
The naira on Tuesday appreciated against the dollar at the parallel market as it continues to recover from the record fall in value witnessed last week. The rise in value comes few days after the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided Bureaux De Change hub in Abuja.
The raid was said to be the product of weeks of surveillance during which agents of the EFCC monitored the activities of most of the bureau de change operators in the Wuse 4 axis.
An informed source said it was a planned operation to dislodge currency speculators, who were alleged to be massively mopping up available foreign currencies, especially the dollar.
The anti-graft agency was understood to be working on intelligence that some elements with massive naira inflow had mobilized resources and were busy buying up available foreign currencies, especially the United States dollar, that they intended to either hoard or smuggle out of Nigeria.
Some operatives or officials of the Commission have been dispatched in different cities and a confirmed source said it was a coordinated nationwide operation that would be extended to all the major commercial cities like Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
The visit by the EFCC to the Lagos bureaux de change (BDC) hubs comes barely five days after a raid on BDCs in Abuja.
The raid, conducted in other locations across the country, was undertaken days after the CBN blamed currency speculators for exacerbating the crash of the Naira against the Dollar and other foreign currencies
When the ICIR contacted the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwajuren, for his comments on the matter, he replied “there would be an official response to the issue later.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had earlier today issued a statement warning Nigerians on the activities of market speculators following the deep crash yesterday of the naira against the dollar, hitting an all-time low of N710 to the American currency, and dealing a massive blow to businesses and the overall economy.
However, the naira has remained stable at N420/$1 on the official market.