The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced plans to cancel the certificates of incorporation for Bureaux De Change (BDCs) whose licences have been revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In February, the CBN revoked the licences of 4,173 BDC operators for failing to comply with regulatory guidelines.
Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Sidi Hakama, explained that the revocations were due to non-payment of necessary fees within the stipulated period and non-compliance with various CBN directives, including Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing regulations.
Hakama stated, “The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions: Payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines; rendition of returns in line with the guidelines; compliance with guidelines, directives, and circulars of the CBN.”
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Following this directive, the CAC issued a notice on its website on Wednesday, advising the affected companies to change their names and business objects within three months. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of their certificates of incorporation and dissolution of the companies.
The CAC notice read, “The general public is hereby informed that following the revocation of the operational licences of 4,173 Bureau De Change companies by the Central Bank of Nigeria, as published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (Vol. 111) No. 37 of February 27, 2024, for non-compliance with regulatory standards, the Corporate Affairs Commission, in exercise of its powers under section 8(1)(e) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, advises these companies to change their names and objects within three months from the date of this publication.”
The notice further stated, “Failure to change the names and objects within the stipulated timeframe shall result in the cancellation of the certificate of incorporation and dissolution. It is unlawful for a company whose certificate has been deemed dissolved to carry on business.”
