Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) says it has suspended its Wholesale Dutch Auctions (WDAS) to
check money laundering in the foreign exchange market.
A circular by CBN
to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators said that the twice-weekly wholesale
foreign exchange auction had been suspended for now.
The circular said
the auction would be replaced with a retail version requiring dealers to reveal
the identity of the buyers.
The circular,
signed by CBN Trade & Exchange, Batari Musa, said that the RDA would take
place on Monday and Wednesday of every week.
The circular said
that dealers would now have to obtain prior approval to import foreign exchange
bank notes to prevent money laundering.
It directed that
recipients of proceeds from international money transfer firms such as Western
Union and Money Gram would be paid only in naira.
According to the
circular, the limit on MasterCard, Visa naira debit and credit card spending
abroad has been increased to 150,000 dollars a year from 40,000 dollars.
It said that the
aim was to ensure transparency and reduce black market foreign exchange
trading.
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