The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has uncovered irregularities in the country’s outstanding foreign exchange forward contracts following a forensic audit. According to the bank, several contracts meant to cushion currency risk were found to be illegitimate and will be invalidated.
An audit, conducted by Deloitte, reviewed transactions within the retail secondary market intervention window and findings revealed discrepancies such as mismatched beneficiary identities, inflated FX requests, and incomplete or fraudulent documentation — including blank or incorrect Form M submissions.
The CBN noted that some of the contracts involved upfront naira payments for future dollar delivery, many of which were never fulfilled and pledged to work with law enforcement and regulatory bodies to impose civil, administrative, or criminal penalties where necessary.
The apex bank insists that all affected parties were given a chance to respond before any final decisions were taken, underscoring its commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance
