Report: Nigeria to Stop Cash Withdrawals From Government Accounts

From the commencement of March, Nigerian nationalist officials volition beryllium barred from withdrawing currency from authorities slope accounts, the caput of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit reportedly said. Public officials that privation to beryllium exempted from this caller regularisation volition person to get a waiver from the Nigerian Presidency.

Government Workers Vulnerable to Money Laundering

Nigerian authorities workers volition beryllium prohibited from drafting currency from authorities accounts starting connected March 1, Modibbo R. Hamman Tukur, the caput of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), has said. The caller rule, which reportedly applies to federal, section and authorities officials, seeks to tackle the precocious levels of corruption and wealth laundering successful government.

In addition, a Reuters study said the caller regularisation successful is tandem with the Nigerian government’s extremity of achieving a cashless economy. The study besides quotes Tukur explaining the reasons down this decision. He said:

Civil servants are becoming much and much susceptible to wealth laundering and its predicate offences owed to their vulnerability to currency withdrawals from nationalist accounts.

To enactment Tukur’s assertions, the study said an investigation by NFIU — an autonomous portion wrong the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) — had shown that betwixt 2015 and 2022 officials withdrew currency equivalent to $2.45 cardinal from authorities accounts. Most of the withdrawals were supra the acceptable limits, the study added.

The CBN’s New Payments System Blueprint

Meanwhile, successful instances wherever currency is needed, Tukur said officials volition person to use for a waiver from the presidency. However, this whitethorn lone beryllium granted connected a “case-by-case basis.”

In its precocious unveiled Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025 document, the CBN said aims to “have a cashless and businesslike physics outgo system” that supports fiscal services successful each sectors by 2025. To assistance it execute this, the CBN has instituted a fig of reforms that see issuing recently designed naira banknotes and phasing retired aged ones.

The CBN has besides imposed currency withdrawal limits for some firm organizations and individuals. Recently, the slope besides reportedly directed banks to halt over-the-counter currency withdrawals of the caller banknotes.

Besides limiting the usage of cash, the CBN is besides seeking to boost the usage of its flagging cardinal slope integer currency. However, contempt the respective steps taken to marque the CBDC charismatic to users, Bitcoin.com News reported successful October 2022 that galore Nigerians had not embraced this.

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