Dollar Crisis: On Tuesday, November 1, 2022, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) initiated a raid on Bureau de Change operators in main Nigerian cities in order to quell the dollar crisis involving the exchange rate.
The detectives apprehended 87 forex dealers total in Abuja, Lagos, and Kano states.
As ThePunch reports, the EFCC operatives ransacked the vaults of forex dealers in Abuja and discovered hoards of both dollars and naira.
During the raiding exercise, a total of 40 illegal forex dealers were arrested in addition to the 25 already arrested at the Wuse offices of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators on Tuesday. The EFCC operatives also impounded the phones of those that were arrested.
In addition, 14 and 8 BDC operators were apprehended in Lagos and Kano at BDC markets respectively.
The EFCC officials started raiding BDC centres following the apprehension of Ismaila Atumeyi, the New Nigeria Peoples Party's Kogi State House of Assembly candidate.
Atumeyi was caught in Abuja on Sunday, October 30, 2022, with N326m and $140,500 cash alongside one Joshua Dominic, an accused habitual fraudster.
The raid was conducted under the suspicion that BDCs are being used to launder money by terrorists, bandits, and politicians. With the recent announcement of the redesign of Nigerian currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria, these individuals may be trying to convert their illegal funds to US dollars. The new notes are set to be released on December 15th.
