The Central Bank of Nigeria has denied claims that it is preventing Nigerians from transferring money into their accounts.
The CBN also warned customers to exercise caution when sending fictitious SWIFT messages while remitting foreign exchange.
The apex bank made this disclosure in a statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications on Tuesday, Hakama Sidi Ali.
The CBN stated that it does not keep accounts for private business organizations or offer correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in international transfers.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been inundated with claims by private entities, individuals, law firms and government agencies that foreign currency funds allegedly transferred to them by foreign entities have yet to be credited to their accounts with Nigerian banks. In some instances, the claimants alleged that the funds were withheld by either the beneficiary bank in Nigeria or the CBN and requested the assistance of the Bank towards releasing the funds to them,” they stated.
According to the apex bank, these assertions are frequently supported by copies of SWIFT acknowledgement (ACK) and SWIFT MT103, which are allegedly used as evidence of payment.
These documents are usually fraudulent and untraceable on the SWIFT platform, the CBN stated.
“The SWIFT ack copy and SWIFT MT103 that these claimants usually attach as evidence of remittance to beneficiary banks in Nigeria are not reliable… the funds have not been received to enable their application to the beneficiary’s account,” the statement read.
The Bank provided instructions on how to handle uncredited fund difficulties.
It said the sending customer should get in touch with their bank to track the transaction or recall the fund.
The CBN underlined the importance of exercising vigilance when dealing with fraudulent SWIFT documents that are used to fabricate claims that foreign exchange payments have been withheld.
“The general public is therefore advised to be careful with such unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents containing spurious claims of non-application of substantial foreign currency funds allegedly transferred into the beneficiary’s account.
“The CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution,” the CBN warned.
The Central Bank of Nigeria recently issued a warning against fraudulent operations involving bogus claims of contract awards and special financial interventions purportedly linked to the Bank.
The bank emphasised as part of its present management focus, it has ceased sponsoring special projects and direct development interventions.
