The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a warning to the public regarding fraudulent claims involving unsubstantiated Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messages, which allege that foreign currency funds are being withheld by Nigerian banks or the CBN itself.
This follows an increase in petitions from individuals, law firms, government agencies, and private entities claiming that foreign currency transfers sent to their accounts have not been credited.
In a statement signed by Hakama Sidi Ali, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, the CBN highlighted that these claims are often accompanied by fake documents, including SWIFT MT103 and SWIFT acknowledgement (ACK) copies, purportedly serving as evidence of remittance.
The central bank emphasized that these documents are unreliable and cannot be traced on the SWIFT platform.
“The funds referenced in these claims have not been received by the beneficiary banks, making their application to the beneficiaries’ accounts impossible,” the statement read.
The CBN clarified the standard procedure for addressing such issues, advising that the sender of the funds should request the sending bank to trace the funds through a formal tracer process, rather than escalating the matter to the CBN or law enforcement agencies.
“In a situation where a fund transfer beneficiary’s receiving bank claims non-receipt of funds remitted by the foreign entity (sending customer), instead of escalating such issue to CBN or Law Enforcement Agencies, the standard practice is for the sending customer to contact the sending bank to send a tracer to trace where the fund is hanging and recall it.”
Additionally, the central bank reiterated that it neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks nor maintains accounts for private business entities.
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“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state emphatically that the CBN neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities,” said Ali.
“Consequently, petitioners’ claim that the alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only spurious but deceitful.”
The CBN has warned that any individual or organization found making illegitimate claims will face severe legal consequences.
“The CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution,” Ali stated.
The warning comes after the central bank received an influx of claims alleging that foreign currency transfers were being withheld, either by the beneficiary banks or the CBN.
“The requests are usually supported with fake documents such as SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy, etc.,” the CBN noted. The bank stressed that these documents are not traceable on the SWIFT platform, further invalidating the claims.
The CBN urged Nigerians to exercise caution when dealing with such fraudulent claims, emphasizing that unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents alleging non-application of substantial foreign currency funds should be carefully scrutinized.
