Transact Business in Dollars and Go to Jail, CBN Warns

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned that anyone who transacts business using foreign currencies in Nigeria risks six months imprisonment or a fine.

Ibrahim Mu’azu,  CBN  director, Corporate Communications, in a statement said the CBN Act “stipulates that any person(s) who contravenes this provision is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a prescribed fine, or six months imprisonment.”

It said the apex bank has “observed that some institutions price their goods and services in foreign currencies and demand payments in foreign currencies rather than the domestic currency (the Naira), which is the legal tender in Nigeria. The CBN Act of 2007, states inter-alia that the currency notes issued by the bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria…for the payment of any amount.”

The CBN lamented what it called the increasing use of foreign currencies in the domestic economy as a medium of payment for goods and services by individuals and corporates, warning that whoever “contravenes this provision is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a prescribed fine or six months imprisonment.”

This prohibition, Mu’azu said, “is without prejudice to foreigners, visitors and tourists who are encouraged to continue to use their cards for payments or exchange their foreign currency for local currency at any of the authorized dealers’ outpost.”

The general public was advised to report any contravention of the provision of this Act to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for appropriate action.