E-Financial
FG Creates Billionaires through Forex Round Tripping
Muhammadu Sanusi ll, emir of Kano, has said that the practice whereby Nigerian businessmen obtain dollars at official rate and resell at a higher rate at the parallel market is still continuing under the watch of President Muhammed Buhari.
“We have created our own billionaires since 2015 from foreign exchange subsidy,” the emir said in a speech at 15th Joint National Council on Development Planning meeting held in Kano yesterday.
They got the dollar at N197 and price their goods at N300, he said in his speech tilled “Nigeria: The search for new growth model.”
“For instance, when the CBN was selling dollar at N197 and people were buying at N300, if I sit down in my garden and pick up my phone I would have enough people to call in the industry to get 10 million dollars at officials rate and sell at N300 and make a profit of over N1bn and if I do that four times in a year, for doing nothing I would have earned N4bn.
“And people were telling us that this policy was to help the poor. We should not devalue because if we do the poor people would suffer.
“…People that were profiting from this were the ones telling the government that if you devalue people would suffer; meanwhile they all got the dollar at N197 and price their goods at N300.
“The poor paid the price of the devalued currency and the rich schemed up the profits and it went on for one year and we talked and talked and talked. “If the present administration continues to behave the way the immediate past government behaved, we will end up where Jonathan ended. You may not like it but that is the truth.”
He added that one needs not be an economist to know that any system that allows someone to make N1bn profit through a phone call without investing a kobo is a wrong system and unsustainable.
He pointed out that the economics aspect of the whole thing was that for every one billion dollars that was taken from the federation account and sold by the CBN at N197, the states were losing N100bn that can go into salaries, into agriculture and into healthcare.
Keystone Bank Limited and the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of Pan-Atlantic University have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), youth entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion across Nigeria.
The MoU signing ceremony took place at the bank’s head office in Lagos on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Nnenna Anyim Okoro, the Executive Director, Corporate and South, Keystone Bank, described the partnership as a bold and strategic step toward accelerating national economic transformation.
According to her, the collaboration underscores Keystone Bank’s unwavering commitment to empowering the next generation of business leaders and fostering an inclusive financial ecosystem.
“At Keystone Bank, we believe that entrepreneurship is the heartbeat of sustainable economic development.
Across Nigeria, MSMEs are not just businesses; they are the dreams and daily struggles of men and women determined to create value, provide jobs, and build a better future. They are, quite literally, the engine room of our national economy.
“Our sponsorship of the Annual EDC SME Conference 2025 and support for the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Walk reflect our deep belief in the transformative power of small businesses.
“This partnership is also about financial inclusion, youth engagement, capacity building, job creation, and collaboration,” she stated.
Olayemi Sule, Group Head, Retail & Digital Banking, Keystone Bank, emphasized the innovative offerings customers can expect as a result of the partnership.
“Our customers should look forward to a suite of innovative financial products and digital solutions specifically designed to support business growth, enhance financial literacy, and improve market access.
Also speaking, Dr. Nnenna Ugo, EDC board member and Head, Alumni Relations and Support Services at Pan-Atlantic University, expressed optimism about the partnership’s long-term impact.
“We are super excited about this partnership and confident that it will drive transformation for both institutions.
“The EDC was established to build capacity and provide support services for SMEs. In the past 21 years, we have trained over 350,000 entrepreneurs across Nigeria.
“Keystone Bank’s support comes at a critical moment as we scale our programs and expand our reach ahead of the 2025 SME Conference and GEW Nigeria.
“The SME Conference is a powerful platform that brings together key players in the ecosystem each year to address pressing issues affecting small businesses.
“This collaboration strengthens our capacity to engage more entrepreneurs, provide deeper insights, and drive conversations that inspire growth, resilience, and innovation.
“We commend Keystone Bank’s leadership for its vision and dedication to inclusive economic growth. The bank has truly distinguished itself as a champion of enterprise, and we are proud to have them as a strategic partner,” she concluded.
As part of the agreement, Keystone Bank becomes the major sponsor of the 2025 EDC SME Conference and a key supporter of the GEW Walk, a flagship event during Global Entrepreneurship Week Nigeria 2025.
Both events are expected to attract thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, thought leaders, and policymakers, offering a vibrant platform for knowledge-sharing, networking, and business empowerment.
Fidelity Bank Plc on Wednesday refuted claims that its Managing Director, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, is involved in an ongoing fraud case concerning the account of Woobs Resources.
The Bank’s position follows reports published by Sahara Reporters alleging that Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe was listed as a defendant in the case.
However, documents sighted by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek revealed that the charge sheet dated May 12, 2025, named the defendants as Victor Ukutt, Fidelity Bank Plc, Whoba Ugwunna Ogo, and Safiya Whoba.
A statement by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice dated June 9, 2025, confirmed that Onyeali-Ikpe’s name was struck off the charge list.
The Ministry noted that she was neither the Managing Director nor the account officer at the time the account in question was opened.
The clarification aims to dispel misinformation and uphold the integrity of the institution and its leadership.
Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed July 1, 2025, for the commencement of trial in a money laundering case involving Cititrust Holdings PLC and three of its subsidiaries.
The subsidiaries are Cititrust Funding PLC, Cititrust Credit Limited and Cititrust Financial Services Limited,
The companies are facing an eight-count charge filed by a team of prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comprising Anasoh Henry Onyekachi, Frankklin Ofoma, Abdulhamid Lamido Tukur, and A.A. Usman.
According to the charge, between 2021 and 2023, the companies, all incorporated in Nigeria, allegedly operated investment management services without a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This act contravenes Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and is punishable under Section 57(5) of the same legislation.
The prosecution also alleged that the companies conducted a Collective Investment Scheme without registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), another violation of regulatory requirements.
In one of the counts, Cititrust Credit Limited is specifically accused of failing to report high-value financial transactions to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
These transactions include a N20 million transfer on January 7, 2021; a N200 million transfer on April 4, 2021; and a N200 million lodgement on January 29, 2021.
Additionally, both Cititrust Credit Limited and Cititrust Financial Services Limited are alleged to have made a single transfer and lodgement respectively of N42 million into their bank accounts on January 29, 2021, without proper disclosure to relevant authorities.
The alleged offences are in breach of Sections 11(1)(b) and 11(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022, as well as Section 54(1) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007, and are punishable under the respective laws.
The court is expected to begin full proceedings on July 1.
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