Deposit Money Banks in the country have informed their customers of plans to publish the names of customers who fraudulently collected foreign exchange without utilising the forex.
They said the decision to publish defaulters’ names was based on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive and in line with the signed customer declaration form.
The banks said they discovered that some customers presented fraudulent travel credentials or cancelled their flight tickets after collecting Business Travel Allowance (BTA) and Personal Travel Allowance (PTA).
The banks also gave the defaulters two weeks to return the forex or risk being named and shamed.
First Bank of Nigeria disclosed this in an email to its customers titled ‘Adherence to forex sale policy’.
It said, “We have been directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to inform all our customers that unethical practices to circumvent the new CBN policy on the sale of forex, such as the presentation of false travel documents, visas, and the cancellation of flight tickets after purchasing personal travel allowance and business travel allowance, will no longer be tolerated.
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“Defaulting customers who present fraudulent travel credentials or cancel their tickets and fail to refund the purchased PTA and BTA within two weeks, as stated in the signed customer declaration form, will have their identities and bank verification numbers published.
“We aim to implement this policy immediately as an organisation that is fully compliant with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s rules and regulations.
Also, Stanbic IBTC stated, “Also, we have been directed to publish the names and bank verification numbers (BVNs) of defaulting customers who present fake travel credentials or cancel their tickets and fail to return the purchased PTA and BTA within two weeks, as stipulated in the signed customer declaration form.
“As an organisation that is fully compliant with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) rules and regulations, we intend to proceed with this directive immediately.
“We advise that customers adhere to the aforementioned directive so that we can continue to provide the best financial services as regards foreign exchange.”
