The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced plans to cancel the certificates of incorporation for Bureau de Change (BDC) operators whose licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The move comes after the CBN withdrew the licenses of 4,173 BDC operators in February for non-compliance with regulatory guidelines.
The CBN’s action, detailed by acting director of corporate communications Sidi Hakama, highlighted the failure of the affected institutions to adhere to key regulatory provisions.
These include the nonpayment of necessary fees within the stipulated period, failure to render returns as required, and non-compliance with anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing regulations.
“The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions: Payment of all necessary fees, including license renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines; rendition of returns in line with the guidelines; compliance with guidelines, directives, and circulars of the CBN,” the CBN stated.
In response, the CAC issued a notice on its website on Wednesday, stating that it would cancel the certificates of incorporation for these companies unless they change their names and objects within three months.
The notice emphasized that continued business operations by a dissolved company would be unlawful.
“The general public is hereby informed that following the revocation of the operational licenses of 4,173 Bureau De Change companies by the Central Bank of Nigeria vide a Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (Vol. 111) No. 37 of February 27, 2024, for noncompliance with Regulatory Standards, the Corporate Affairs Commission, in the exercise of its powers under Section 8(1)(e) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, advises these companies to, within three months from the date of this publication, change the names and objects of such companies.
“Failure to change the names and objects within the stipulated time frame shall result in cancellation of the certificate of incorporation and dissolution. It is to be noted that it is unlawful for a company whose certificate has been deemed dissolved to carry on business,” the CAC notice read.
Recall that in February 2024, the CBN introduced a revised regulatory framework for BDC operations to address excesses and enhance transparency in the foreign exchange market.
As part of ongoing reforms, the CBN now mandates foreign exchange sellers to BDCs transacting $10,000 and above to declare their sources of forex.
Additionally, sellers are required to comply with anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism regulations.
