*FG To Charge BDC Operator
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday, June 25, directed banks and all financial institutions in the country to freeze transactions, accounts and assets linked to six individuals and four Bureau De Change (BDC) operators linked with terrorism financing.
In the directive contained in a circular, dated June 24 (Ref: CMD/FCS/PUB/CIR/002/011), CBN said the latest update to the Nigeria Sanctions List, effective June 18, was binding on all regulated institutions and requires immediate implementation.
The apex bank informed regulated entities of fresh sanctions issued by the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NIGSAC) and the United States (US) Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), under Executive Order 13224, as amended.
The six individuals added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons List are Muktar Muhammad Adamu, Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Ibrahim Abubakar, Adamu Chiroma and Yakubu Ogirima Ibrahim.
The four Nigeria-based money service businesses and BDCs designated as owned or controlled by the listed individuals are Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited and Abbal Bako and Sons Bureau De Change Limited.
The CBN directed financial institutions to “identify and immediately freeze, without prior notice, all funds, assets and other economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the designated persons and entities.”
The directive followed recent sanctions imposed by the US government on Mukhtar Muhammad, a Lagos-based BDC operator, and three firms allegedly under his control.
OFAC, in a statement released earlier this week, accused Muhammad, also known as Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, of facilitating financial transactions and money transfers on behalf of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the West African affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group.
It also sanctioned Nine To Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, alleging they were used to channel funds for the terrorist organisation.
The directive also extends to companies or entities that are 50 per cent or more owned, individually or collectively, by the sanctioned persons.
Financial institutions were further instructed to ensure that no funds, financial services or economic resources are made available, directly or indirectly, to the designated individuals or entities.
