A Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, has convicted three individuals for operating an illegal Bureau De Change (BDC) without a license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The EFCC prosecuted the case, resulting in varying sentences for the convicted individuals.
The Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, has convicted three individuals for operating an illegal Bureau De Change (BDC). The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the prosecuting agency, announced the convictions in a statement on Tuesday. The trio, identified as Mustapha Idris, Hassan Bala, and Ajayi Isaac, all from Chikanda in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, faced charges for running a BDC without the required license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Trial judge Olukayode Ariwoola handed down varying sentences. Mr. Idris was sentenced to 250 hours of community service without the option of a fine and ordered to forfeit CFA 33,000 and N323,000 recovered from him to the federal government. Mr. Bala received a six-month imprisonment sentence or a fine of N200,000, and was ordered to forfeit CFA 677,500 and N881,900 seized from him. Similarly, Mr. Isaac was sentenced to six months in prison or a fine of N500,000 and ordered to forfeit $31 recovered from him to the Federal Government. The EFCC brought the charges against them under section 57 (1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, which prohibits individuals from engaging in specialized banking or other financial institution business, including forex trading, without a valid license. Section 57(5) of the law states that any individual found guilty faces a minimum of five years imprisonment, a fine of at least N2 million, an additional fine of no less than N50,000 for each day the violation persists, or both imprisonment and fine. For corporate bodies, the law prescribes a fine of N10 million and N200,000 for each day the violation persists. During the trial, EFCC prosecutors Sesan Ola and Andrew Akoja presented witnesses and tendered extra-judicial statements from the defendants and various currencies recovered from the trio as exhibits.The EFCC collaborates with institutions like the CBN, Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Customs Service, and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to combat illegal forex operations.
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