JUST IN: We’ve uncovered $2.4b invalid FX claims squeezing Naira – CBN
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Mr Yemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has said the apex bank uncovered $2.4 billion invalid foreign outstanding claims, which are badly affecting the naira and causing panic in the currency market.
The bank chief disclosed this during an interview with Arise Television on Monday.
The disturbing discovery according to Cardoso, was made during an audit by the CBN’s consultant, which exposed a number of suspicious transactions.
He stated that the apex bank commissioned Deloitte to look into the FX allegations to provide an actual picture of the situation.
According to Deloitte assessment, up to $2.4 billion of the backlog consists of fictitious claims, with claimants in certain cases being unable to provide import documentation.
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“We had had reasons to believe we needed to take a harder look at these obligations. So we contracted Deloitte management consultants to do a forensics of all these obligations and to actually tell us what was valid and what was not,” Mr Cardoso said.
“The result that came out of this was startling in a great respect. It was startling. We discovered that of the roughly $7 billion, about $2.4 billion had issues, which we believe had no business being there and the infractions on that ranged from so many things, for example not having valid import documents and in some cases entities that do not exist,” he added.
