The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will pursue civil, administrative or criminal sanctions against individuals and entities found to have violated foreign exchange rules, following a forensic audit into undelivered forward contracts. The audit, conducted by Deloitte from September 2023, reviewed transactions under the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (RSMIS) window.
A document published on the CBN website stated that the audit revealed significant irregularities, including inflated FX requests, blank or incorrect Form M submissions, non-permissible imports, and approvals for companies without the necessary authorisations. Some FX sales exceeded the declared cost of goods, while others involved vague or false documentation.
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The Bank said the findings rendered many contracts void under Nigerian law. Affected parties were given an opportunity to respond during the audit, and only verified contracts were honoured. For invalidated transactions, naira payments were refunded, but no FX was disbursed.
The CBN declared the audit process closed and not open to appeal, citing its independence and fairness. The development follows earlier disclosures by Governor Olayemi Cardoso that about $2.4 billion out of the previously reported $7 billion FX backlog was deemed invalid.
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