The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday announced that it would no longer permit the sale of foreign exchange to bureaux de change operators in the country.

Speaking shortly after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, accused the BDCs of deliberate economic sabotage and misusing the weekly $20,000 allocation to them.

Tribune reports that Emefiele announced that the apex bank would no longer renew licences of BDC operators in the country.

Emefiele further accused international agencies and embassies operating in Nigeria of illegally patronising BDCs.

The CBN governor also accused international bodies operating in Nigeria of sabotage, noting that the international development finance institutions, embassies and others are supposed to patronise the importer and exporter window, where there is transparency.

Having accused the BDC operators of dollarisation of the Nigerian economy, Emefiele added that the previous allocation of foreign exchange to BDCs will now be given to banks to sell to customers.

Some other allegations against BDCs are that: they have become an avalanche of rent-seeking operators; owners owning multiple BDCs and financing unauthorized transactions.

More to come…