EFCC arrests 10 suspects for forex fraud in Kano

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested 10 people in Kano State in connection to foreign exchange fraud.

The suspects allegedly forged travel documents to procure foreign exchange from commercial banks in Kano.

"The suspects were arrested following intelligence which indicated that a syndicate of fraudsters was perpetrating the crime around Fagge and Gwammaja areas of Kano State," the agency said in a statement on Thursday, September 2, 2021.

EFCC said the suspects will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this week raised alarm that many customers are using fake documents to obtain personal travel allowance (PTA), and business travel allowance (BTA).

Other customers were accused of cancelling their flight tickets once the forex had been obtained from the banks.

The apex bank directed banks to publicly publish the names and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of customers engaged in such fraudulent practices for forex.

The bank last month discontinued the sale of forex to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators for allegedly sabotaging its goal to safeguard the naira's value.

CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the bank was finding it more difficult to meet its mandate of maintaining Nigeria's forex reserve due to the greed and corruption of the operators.

The weekly allocations to the operators were then channeled to commercial banks who have been directed to continue to disburse forex to customers as stipulated by the law.