08/05/2024
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Forex traders who operate on the streets in major cities across Nigeria have gone into hiding following a raid by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The development comes two months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned street trading of foreign exchange (FX) and implemented stricter regulations for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators.
According to reports, the EFCC conducted the raid in various locations, resulting in the arrest of several FX traders.
An FX trader in Port Harcourt, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, disclosed that many traders were apprehended during the morning raid.
“The EFCC guys came in the morning, I was not there when they came, but many of the traders who came in the morning were arrested,” he told TechCabal.
Similarly, another trader in Gbagada, Lagos, confirmed that FX traders in the area were hiding, noting that arrests were made in Sh*tta and Lagos market.
“They arrested people in Sh*tta and Lagos market,” he stated.
This recent operation by the EFCC follows a similar crackdown in February, where over 100 currency traders were arrested in Lagos.
Additionally, the CBN revoked the operating licenses of more than 4,000 BDC operators a month later.
The raids and arrests are part of a series of policy actions aimed at restoring confidence in Nigeria’s volatile FX markets.
Despite the naira briefly becoming the world’s best-performing currency in March, it weakened again as the US dollar strengthened against most major currencies.
