Following the Directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have lifted restrictions placed on the account of about 440 of its customers nationwide.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, had in August 2021, granted the request of the CBN to freeze accounts of some fintech companies for 180 days.
The CBN, in a motion filed at the court, stated that “the investigation being carried out concerns what has been discovered to be serious infractions by the defendants/respondents in connection with some foreign exchange transactions and non-documentation by the defendants/respondents in violation of the extant laws and regulations, particularly the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and the Central Bank of Nigeria foreign exchange manual.”
However, in a circular to DMBs signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, A.M. Barau,, the regulator directed the banks to inform all the affected customers, comprising companies and individuals of the decision.
“You are hereby directed to vacate the Post-No-Debit restriction placed on the accounts of the under-listed bank customers at our instance. You are also required to inform the concerned customers of the vacation accordingly,” it said.
No reason was given for the new directive.
Some of the companies affected by the Apex Bank decision include:
Bamboo, Risevest, and a sports betting company, Nairabet.
Others are: Chaka Technologies Limited, Trove Technologies Limited, and crypto exchange, Yellow Card Financial, amongst several others.
