A final forfeiture order had been issued, sealing the fate of several high-value assets across Lagos. But on April 9, 2025, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal unraveled the case, ruling that the initial proceedings failed to adequately evaluate all evidence—sending it back for a retrial.

It was a decision that sent shockwaves across legal circles. The initial ruling, issued on November 1, 2024, was a direct response to an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which alleged Emefiele acquired luxury properties using illegal funds. The assets included duplexes in Lekki, bungalows in Ikoyi, and a prime plot of land measuring 1,919 square meters—a portfolio worth millions.

The EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, stood firm, arguing that Emefiele had failed to provide solid proof that his acquisitions were legitimate. His financial records listed earnings from Zenith Bank and his tenure as CBN governor, but, crucially, the properties were not registered in his name—a fact that fueled suspicions of hidden transactions.

Then came Justice Abdulazeez Anka’s landmark ruling. He acknowledged that while concerns existed, the appellant’s declared income could reasonably account for the acquisitions.

The court determined that a closer inspection—through oral testimonies, documentary evidence, and thorough cross-examinations—was necessary before making a final judgment.

Now, the case heads back to the lower court, with new uncertainties surrounding the outcome. What seemed like a closed chapter in Nigeria’s financial crime investigations is now wide open, leaving room for fresh arguments, deeper scrutiny, and a legal showdown that will shape the narrative in the months ahead.

The disclosure followed the formal handover of the confiscated estate by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Federal Ministry of Housing on Tuesday in Abuja.

In a statement by Salisu Haiba, the Ministry’s director of Press and Public Relations, the Ministry confirmed it has received the property which will be opened for sale to the public soon, allowing Nigerians to own homes in a 753-duplex housing estate.

Ahmed Dangiwa, minister of Housing and Urban Development, commended the EFCC’s commitment to asset recovery and the fight against corruption, citing the commission’s efforts to ensure recovered assets are productively utilised to create value for all Nigerians.

He stated that the ministry will work in collaboration with the EFCC to assess the buildings in the estate to ascertain their safety and suitability for accommodation.

Also highlighting strategies that will be adopted to ensure utmost transparency and accountability in the sale, Dangiwa said:

“The ministry will offer the units for both sale to the public and for special government needs. For the public sale component, we will adopt a transparent and competitive process. This will include nationwide advertisement and the use of the Renewed Hope Portal, where interested Nigerians can submit their Expressions of Interest.”

Olanipekun Olukoyede, EFCC Chairman, noted that the handover shows the government’s commitment to fighting corruption and also ensures that the public is adequately informed to prevent the recovered assets from being looted again.

He explained that the estate is situated on a parcel of land measuring over 150,000 square meters, located on Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, and contains hundreds of apartments.

Olukoyede emphasized the commission’s dedication to work with the Ministry of Housing in completing the estate and ensuring the transparent sale of the properties.

The court also overruled the argument of Tigran Gambaryan who claimed he was not an agent of Binance Ltd. Justice Emeka Nwite earlier, in the proceedings on Monday, ordered him to take his plea immediately, for himself and on behalf of Binance whom he represents in Nigeria, before commencement of trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had planned to arraign Binance Ltd, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla before the Federal High Court, Abuja in its suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/138/2024, last week.

It has been previously reported that their planned arraignment last Thursday was stalled following a strong objection from Gambaryan’s legal team which insisted that he is not an agent of Binance.

They were scheduled by the court to take their plea in separate suits filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the EFCC.

The EFCC accused the defendants of money laundering and foreign exchange contravention to the tune of $35,400, 000. In the charge sheet seen by journalist, the EFCC alleged they concealed the origin of a cumulative sum of $35,400, 000 generated as revenue by BINANCE in Nigeria knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity

Some of the counts read, “That you, BINANCE HOLDINGS LTD (A.KA BINANCE”) between January 2022 and January 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court not being an authorized dealer in Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market used your virtual asset services platform to unlawfully negotiate foreign exchange rates in Nigeria and you thereby committed an offense contrary to and punishable under section 29(1) (C) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring And Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.

“That you BlNANCE HOLDINGS LTD (“A.K.A BINANCE”), TIGRAN GAMBARYAN, NADEEM ANJARWALLA (now at large), and other persons at large between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to conceal the origin of the proceeds of your unlawful activities and thereby committed an offense contrary to section 21 (a) and punishable under section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

When the court resumed last Thursday, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi SAN contended that his client could not take his plea because he refused to accept service on behalf of Binance as he is not authorized to do so.

According to him, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act mandates the anti-graft agency to ensure that the company (Binance) would have been served, then the company would appoint a representative in writing and it is only then can service and processes be served on Binance.

He added,

“His client is not an executive of Binance and does not reside in Nigeria to qualify as an agent. He explained, “The first defendant(Binance) has no physical footprint in Nigeria and does not have an agent in the country. “I urge my lord to discountenance the submission of the EFCC and adjourn so that they can affect service on Binance. But EFCC counsel, Ekene Iheanacho maintained that though there is no physical presence of Binance in Nigeria,  Gambaryan is the cryptocurrency platform’s agent in the country.

“This defendant is the only agent of Binance in Nigeria and he qualifies to be an agent,” he added.

In his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite held on Monday that Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, states that a person effecting service shall effect same to a chief agent of a company within jurisdiction among others.

He said all the prosecution needs to do is to establish that the person being served is an agent of Binance.

The judge observed that Gambaryan’s lawyers had deposed in an affidavit along with Nadeem, that they “visited Nigeria for the purpose of attending a meeting with Nigerian government officials on behalf of Binance.”

Nwite ruled, “Does the second defendant qualify as an agent of Binance? “From the above statement, the second defendant is the duly appointed representative of Binance. The second defendant is bound to receive summons on behalf of Binance.

“The service of the second defendant on behalf of the first defendant is proper. The court should proceed with the arraignment of the defendants.”

After the judge’s ruling, the registrar of the court read out the five-count charges to Gambaryan who pleaded not guilty to all of them, for himself and Binance.

EFCC’s lawyer, Iheanacho then asked the court to fix a date for the trial of Binance and its executives.

But Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mordi rose and asked the court to take his client’s bail application first, adding that in the alternative, his client should remain in the EFCC custody.

However, Iheanacho told the judge that the proper place for the custody of the defendant is the Nigerian Correctional Service After hearing the lawyers, the judge adjourned EFCC’s case to May 2, 2024,  for trial and 18, April 2024 for bail application.

Binance and its executives are faced with two separate suits by the FIRS and EFCC; the former bordering on tax evasion while the latter charged them for money laundering and foreign exchange contravention.

Recall that the executives have also instituted a fundamental rights case against agencies of the Nigerian government, citing a violation of their constitutional right to liberty.

On February 28, Nigerian authorities detained two senior Binance executives: Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan who serves as the regional manager for Africa, and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American who is the head of financial crime compliance at Binance.

Following the federal government’s ban on cryptocurrency channels as part of a campaign against currency speculation, the Binance executives visited Nigeria for a meeting. The Naira has experienced a significant devaluation of its currency, with the naira losing 70% of its value against the dollar since the foreign exchange reforms were implemented last year, a situation worsened by a shortage of dollars locally.

The NSA later confirmed that Nadeem had fled the country.

In the same vein, an Ikeja High Court has directed Godwin Emefiele, that the former CBN governor, to be remanded in the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) custody for abuse of office charges.EFCC arraigned Emefiele and Henry Omole, his co-defendant, on Monday before Rahmon Oshodi, a judge at the Ikeja High Court. Both defendants entered a not-guilty plea to the twenty-six charges levied against them. The charge was marked ID/23787c/2024 and dated April 3, 2024.

Labo-Lawal, the defendant’s attorney, requested that the court permit Emefiele to be released on his recognizance and to maintain the bail conditions previously set by the Abuja court.

Furthermore, he appealed to the court to continue the bail for the second defendant that Justice Sule-Hamzat had initially granted.

Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the prosecution counsel, did not contest the bail applications. However, after hearing from both lawyers, Justice Oshodi ordered that Emefiele be held in EFCC custody and the second defendant in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, postponing the case until April 11 to decide on the bail and begin the trial.

Emefiele

Earlier today, the embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was arraigned at the Ikeja State High Court in Lagos over alleged abuse of office and allocation of billions of dollars.

Emefiele, alongside his co-defendant, one Henry Isioma Omole, was charged on fresh 26 counts before Justice Rahman Oshodi. In the charge marked ID/23787c/2024 and dated April 3, 2024, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele abused his office between 2022 and 2023 in Lagos.

The commission alleged that the former CBN governor “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”

The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation stated on Tuesday this while giving evidence in court.

Mustapha spoke when he appeared as Prosecution Witness 4 in the ongoing fraud trial of Godwin Emefiele, the immediate past Governor of the CBN, before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had alleged that on February 8, 2023, Emefiele connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2 million from the CBN, claiming that it was requested by the SGF “vide a letter dated 26th January, 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/”

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), on Tuesday, Mustapha noted that neither the documents came from former President Muhammadu Buhari nor his office.

He also denied receiving any amount from the said money.

Mustapha said: “All through my service year as the SGF, I never came across these documents it was claimed that Buhari signed.

“From the face value of this document, having served for five years and seven months as SGF, this document did not emanate from the president for the following reasons:

“A correspondence that has the seal of the Nigerian president does not carry a reference number.

“The seal is the authority.

“Secondly, I have looked at it and read that FEC (Federal Executive Council) decisions are not transmitted by letters.

“They are transmitted through extracts after conclusions are adopted.

“Thirdly, I am the custodian of FEC, the president will not refer executives’ conclusions to me.

“Also, in all the five years and seven months, I have never heard of the terms special appropriation provision referred to.

“The terms known to me, my lord, are appropriation as provided by the appropriation act normally passed by the National Assembly and when the government files drafts, it brings supplementary appropriation.

“In all the correspondences I have received from Buhari, it has never had ‘please accept the assurance of my highest regard’.

“I am his subordinate.

“My correspondences do not carry that.

“And lastly, looking at the signature, it is a failed attempt at reproducing Buhari’s signature.

“I will leave that to the experts.”

The court said Emefiele must, however, remain in the country. On his bail terms, he was restricted to the FCT.

Emefiele, through his lawyer, Mathew Bukka, had requested a variation of the terms.

The Counsel of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, did not object.

He told the court to ensure that Emefiele wrote an undertaking that he would remain in the country if his plea was granted.

The charge against the former governor of the CBN was also amended to 20 from 6.

The amended charges against Emefiele now include criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit felony.

The court had on December 24, 2023 granted Emefiele bail in sum of N300 million with two sureties in like sum.

His lawyer, Mathew Burkaa, said that Emefiele was released from the Kuje Correctional Centre after his lawyers perfected his bail conditions.

Emefiele was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a staff of the CBN, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.

While he was remanded in Kuje, Emefiele was mandated to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court and must remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). (ChannelsTV)

The boards of directors and chief executives of the banks were invited to a meeting on Wednesday, January 10 where they were addressed for 30 minutes each by the apex bank’s Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability, Phillip Ikeazor.

Three other governors formed the panel that addressed the bank executives. They include the Deputy Governor in charge of Operations, Emem Usoro, the Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy, Muhammad Abdullahi and the Deputy Governor in charge of Corporate Services, Bala Bello.

The panel reeled out issues of non-compliance and other infractions committed by the affected banks and then formally sacked the boards.

This followed the recent report of the Special Investigator on Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Godwin Emefiele as the Governor and Related entities, Jim Obazee.

Earlier, the special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu, invited the investors in Titan Trust Bank, but they reportedly refused to honour the invitation to a meeting with the Special Investigator.

The Central Bank of Nigeria issued an official statement via its X Handle:

He was indicted by the special investigator commissioned by President Bola Tinubu to investigate into the activities of the apex bank during Emefiele’s term.

According to the report, Emefiele used proxies to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria for Titan Trust Bank Limited, as well as Keystone Bank without any evidence of payment.

As a result, it recommends that the Federal Government should reverse the sale of the banks and also take them over.

The special investigator, Jim Obazee, had on Wednesday submitted the report of his investigations into the acquisition of Union Bank and Keystone Bank to President Bola Tinubu in two separate letters dated December 20, 2023.

This is coming on the heels of findings by the investigator that Emefiele illegally lodged billions of naira in foreign currencies in no fewer than 593 bank accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, and China without the approval of the apex bank’s board of directors and the CBN Investment Committee.

Obazee found out that the ex-CBN governor lodged £543,482,213 in fixed deposits in UK banks alone without authorisation.

Emefiele, who is currently in the Kuje Custodial Centre, is being prosecuted for N1.2bn procurement fraud.

Obazee, who was appointed special investigator in July, submitted his final report tagged, ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable offences)’ to the President on Wednesday.

He had earlier submitted an interim report on the probe of the CBN and related entities on December 9.

In his letters to the President, Obazee said he had completed his investigation into the illegal acquisition of Union Bank by Titan Bank, and was on the verge of recovering the two banks for the Federal Government.

He stated in his letter to the President, “When we carried out the investigation, we discovered that some persons were used as proxies by Mr Godwin Emefiele to set up Titan Trust Bank and acquire Union Bank therefrom, all from ill-gotten wealth.

“We were able to secure some documents and investigation reports will lead to the forfeiture of the two banks to the Federal Government. We have completed our investigation on this acquisition and have also held meetings with the relevant parties except for Mr Cornelis Vink, who is currently hospitalised in Switzerland.

“Otherwise, we are on the verge of recovering these two banks for the Federal Government.”

During the probe into the UBN acquisition supervised by the Emefiele-led CBN, Obazee explained that he requested the apex bank to furnish him with the details of the deal.

Findings indicate Titan Trust Bank sought the CBN’s no-objection to its proposed consolidation with UBN, excluding its United Kingdom operations via a letter dated October 25, 2021.

In the letter, TTB stated that the consolidation was being contemplated in four phases via acquisition of 91.5 per cent of the issued shares of UBN; mandatory tender offer for the remaining UBN shares; buyout of any share that were not voluntarily sold to TTB on the MTO; and merger of TTB and UBN with UBN as the surviving entity.

The TTB letter also stated that the consolidation was to be funded via a combination of debt and equity.

The CBN in a letter dated March 9, 2022 granted no-objection to TTB’s requests to obtain a $300m facility from Afrexim Bank as well as capital injection of $175m from two existing shareholders of TTB, Luxis International DMCC and Magna International DMCC.

The TTB, via a letter dated June 3, 2022, informed the CBN that it made the payment of the purchase consideration to the selling shareholders on June 1, 2022, and thus completed the acquisition of 93.41 per cent of the issued shares of UBN.

According to the investigator, the TTB sought approval for the mandatory takeover of the remaining 6.59 per cent of UBN shares vide a letter dated October 14, 2022.

The MTO was reportedly triggered by the successful acquisition of 93.41 per cent of the UBN shares and TTB was granted a no-objection to acquire the remaining 6.59 per cent shares through a letter dated October 24, 2022.

On November 2, 2022, the TTB officially launched the MTO, offering to acquire the remaining shares and the MTO concluded with the TTB purchasing an additional 0.64 per cent of the issued shares of UBN, thus bringing its total shareholding to 94.05 per cent.

To approve a scheme arrangement between itself and the holders of the balance of 5.95 per cent shares not yet bought by the TTB following an order of the Federal High Court, the UBN convened a meeting on June 13, 2023.

This was expected to result in the transfer of the outstanding UBN shares to TTB.

The investigation report noted, “The process to acquire the remainder of 5.95 per cent of the issued share capital of UBN by TTB is ongoing through a court-ordered scheme of arrangement between itself and the holders of the balance of 5.95 per cent.

“TTB stated that its ultimate objective is to acquire 100 per cent of the total outstanding shares of UBN.”

Further investigation showed that TTB is owned by Luxis International DMCC and Magna International DMCC, said to be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The two firms were said to be owned by Vink Corporation Middle East FZC, which is controlled by Cornelis Vink.

However, efforts to verify the corporate status of Luxis and Magna in Dubai failed as they did not have a physical presence in the Arab country as claimed.

“This contravenes Section 3(5) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020. Accordingly, they are not supposed to be allowed to operate or acquire a bank in Nigeria,” the report declared.

It stated, “The special investigator probed the activities of the TTB and discovered that there is a mysterious shareholder who has given interest-free long-term loan to (with no fixed repayment schedule) to the entities mentioned above (Luxis International DMCC and Magna International DMCC). This mysterious shareholder is believed to be Mr Godwin Emefiele. [Details: Source]

The accusations were brought to light by Special Investigator Jim Obaze, who has submitted a detailed report on the matter to President Bola Tinubu. Godwin Emefiele, currently detained for a separate N1.2 billion procurement fraud case, is now under scrutiny for unauthorized transactions and potential prosecution related to the CBN’s naira redesign policy.

According to the investigation, Godwin Emefiele is alleged to have operated 593 illegal bank accounts in the U.S., UK, and China, with unauthorized transactions amounting to £543,482,213 in the UK alone.

The report suggests that these transactions were conducted without proper approval, raising concerns about transparency and adherence to legal procedures.

The probe further revealed that the naira redesign initiative, a significant policy undertaken by Emefiele, was carried out without proper authorization.

The former CBN governor reportedly contracted the redesign to a UK-based company, De La Rue, for £205,000, without the necessary approval from the CBN board of directors.

This has led to questions about the transparency of the process and potential legal consequences.

Godwin Emefiele is accused of mismanaging the CBN’s funds, with allegations ranging from illegal foreign account operations to fraudulent cash withdrawals, including a reported fraudulent cash withdrawal of $6.23 million (approximately N2.9 billion).

The investigator also pointed out manipulations of the exchange rate and fraudulent activities related to the e-Naira project.

Currently held in the Kuje Custodial Centre for the N1.2 billion procurement fraud case, Emefiele has been unable to meet the N300 million bail granted to him. Moreover, there are indications that he could face additional charges related to the illegal issuance of currency under section 19 of the CBN Act.

Former President Buhari’s aide, Tunde Sabiu, and 12 CBN directors may also be prosecuted in connection with these charges.

The investigation has uncovered that the naira redesign policy was initiated without proper approval from then-President Buhari. Emefiele allegedly proceeded with the redesign, awarding the contract to the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc without obtaining the necessary approvals.

The revelation raises questions about the legality and transparency of the decision-making process.

The report exposed the abuse of the CBN Ways and Means, including instances where senior CBN and government officials padded approved amounts and engaged in fraudulent activities.

The document alleges that money was taken from the Consolidated Revenue account and charged to Ways and Means, with a total of N124.860 billion involved in these transactions.

(Featured Photo Credit)

The Supreme Court of Nigeria on March 3, 2023 delivered a judgment on the suit by three States (Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara) against the Federal Government of Nigeria, over the cashless policy implementation strategies.

The court ruled that old N1000, N500, N200 remain legal tenders till December 31, 2023.

Some days after the judgment, many businesses are still confused whether to accept the old naira notes or not as the CBN kept mute on the Supreme Court’s judgment.

Now, Professor Charles Soludo, former Governor of the Central Bank and the incumbent Governor of Anambra State, is reporting on his verified Facebook page that the “Commercial banks have been directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to dispense old currency notes and to also receive same as deposits from customers”.

“Tellers at the commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits.

“The Governor of the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, 12th March, 2023.

“The Governor, Dr Godwin Emefiele, personally confirmed the above to me during a phone conversation on Sunday night.  Residents of Anambra are therefore advised to freely accept and transact their businesses with the old currency notes (N200; N500; and N1,000) as well as the new notes.

“Residents should report any bank that refuses to accept deposits of the old notes.  Anambra State Government will not only report such a bank to the CBN, but will also immediately shut down the defaulting branch”.

The CBN framework also authorized PSBs to accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, which will be covered by the deposit insurance scheme; and to provide payments and remittances (including inbound cross-border personal remittances) through various channels within Nigeria.

According to the framework, operators are supposed to use technology to offer services that the unbanked population and those who live in remote corners of the nation can easily access.

The framework’s primary areas of concentration include corporate governance, PSB risk management, and the security of funds for customers using Payment Service Banks’ products.

This framework also aims to ensure that sound risk management practices are embedded in the operations of the PSBs.

The PSBs are required to comply with relevant existing regulations and CBN’s prudential guidelines and circulars, which are issued periodically.

The CBN said PSBs are to operate mostly in rural areas and unbanked locations targeting financially excluded persons, with not less than 25 percent financial service touch points in such rural areas as defined by the CBN from time to time.

They are to enter into direct partnerships with card scheme operators. Such cards shall not be eligible for foreign currency transactions; they can also deploy ATMs in some of these areas; deploy Point of Sale devices and be at liberty to operate through banking agents.

The PSBs have also been authorized to roll out agent networks with the prior approval of the CBN; use other channels, including electronic platforms, to reach out to their customers; and establish coordinating centers in clusters of outlets to supervise and control the activities of the various financial service touch points and banking agents.

The CBN also authorized the PSBs to accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, which will be covered by the deposit insurance scheme; to provide payments and remittances (including inbound cross-border personal remittances) through various channels within Nigeria; and to sell foreign currencies realized from inbound cross-border personal remittances to authorized foreign exchange dealers.

The CBN said the PSBs can also issue debit and pre-paid cards in their name; operate electronic wallets; render financial advisory services and invest in Federal Government of Nigeria and CBN securities.

CBN said the PSBs were licensed to enhance access to final services for low-income earners and use technology to reach Nigerians in remote places where commercial banks find it difficult to operate.

According to the CBN guidelines, the PSBs are to offer smaller-scale banking operations and the absence of credit risk and foreign exchange operations.

Aside from operating current and savings accounts, they can also provide payments and remittance services, issue debit and prepaid cards, deploy Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and other technology-enabled banking services to people who cannot be reached by traditional banks.

The PSBs are to facilitate high volume, low-value transactions in remittance services, micro-savings, and withdrawal services in a secured technology-driven environment to further deepen financial inclusion.

With a N5 billion minimum capital requirement, the apex bank also authorized PSBs to sell foreign currencies (forex) realized from inbound cross-border personal (remittances) to licensed foreign exchange dealers.

“PSBs shall have the privilege to make their investments from the CBN window. All funds in excess of the PSB’s operational float should be placed with DMBs. PSBs shall participate in the payment and settlement system and have access to the inter-bank and the CBN collateralized repo window for their temporary liquidity management,” it said.

“PSBs shall render quarterly returns indicating the number of financially excluded customers on-boarded during the quarter to which the returns relate. All PSBs shall be required to interface with the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) platform in order to promote interconnectivity and interoperability of operations within the Nigeria banking system,” it added.

The CBN, in furtherance of its mandate to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria and the need to enhance access to financial services for low-income earners and unbanked segments of society, has instituted the Payment Service Bank.

The main goal of creating PSBs is to increase financial inclusion by giving small businesses, low-income households, and other financially excluded entities more access to deposit products and payment/remittance services through high-volume, low-value transactions in a secure, technology-driven environment.

The PSB must target people who are financially excluded and operate primarily in rural and unbanked areas, with at least 25% of their financial service touch points in these rural areas, as defined from time to time by the CBN. They must also enter into direct partnerships with card scheme operators.