BY EMMANUEL OLUKOTUN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to pursue civil, administrative, or criminal sanctions against parties found to have breached foreign exchange (FX) rules, following the conclusion of a forensic audit into undelivered forward contracts.
This was disclosed in a document titled Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the Settlement of Undelivered Forward Contracts, published on the Bank’s website on Thursday.
The document read: “The Central Bank of Nigeria is reviewing appropriate legal action against parties found to have violated applicable rules and regulations, based on the findings of the forensic audit. The Bank will collaborate with law enforcement and regulatory agencies to pursue civil, administrative, or criminal sanctions, as necessary.”
The audit, conducted by Deloitte from September 2023, reviewed transactions under the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (RSMIS) window.
These contracts involved upfront naira payments in exchange for promised US dollar delivery on future dates—many of which went unfulfilled. The CBN said the audit was necessary to verify the legitimacy of these contracts, protect FX reserves, and uphold regulatory standards.
The findings revealed extensive irregularities, including mismatches in beneficiary identities, exaggerated FX requests, use of incorrect or blank Form M submissions, and approvals for non-permissible imports. The CBN noted that certain transactions were based on vague or false documentation, while others involved companies that lacked authorisation for the items they sought to import.
In several cases, the approved FX sale value exceeded the declared cost of the imported goods, raising questions of misrepresentation. According to the CBN, such infractions rendered the contracts void under Nigerian law and ineligible for FX settlement. Only verified and compliant contracts were honoured.
The Bank clarified that the affected counterparties had been given the opportunity to respond during the audit process before any contract was invalidated. For those deemed invalid, the naira previously collected was refunded, but no FX was disbursed.