Abuja BDC Addresses Report of Creating Parallel Group for Money Laundering

• Abuja-based BDC has denied allegations that the group is creating a rival entity to carry out money laundering and support terrorism.
• It was alleged that the Zone 4 traders were showing off a new organization that was separate from the Association of Bureau de Change Operators
• As part of the Zone 4 group's program, the newly elected executive council members will be sworn in at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Center in Abuja on January 15, 2025

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Abdullahi Abubakar Dauran, the departing head of the Wuse Zone 4 merchants association, an Abuja-based Bureau de Change traders group, has refuted claims that the association is forming a parallel organization to conduct money laundering and terrorism financing.

The Zone 4 traders were reportedly flaunting a new group that was distinct from the Association of Bureau de Change Operators (ABCON), according to some National Dailies' report

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According to the reports, the newly elected executive council members will be inaugurated as part of the Zone 4 group's program on January 15, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre in Abuja. This event is anticipated to increase forex trading in informal markets.

How the BDC reacted

Dauran, however, told the Daily Trust in a statement on Sunday that the prior allegations were baseless, unfounded and mischievous because there is no one record of such acts occurring among the Zone 4 traders.

The statement reads in part,

“As patriotic citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are law-abiding people, and all our transactions are guided by the financial laws and regulations of the country.”

Dauran also said,

“Where my name was mentioned by the two newspapers to have taken part in their report was completely false. I did not grant any such interview, and I can say categorically that those statements were concocted to suit their plans.

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“Having served as chairman of the association for six years, it will be highly immoral and unfair for me to blackmail the Zone 4 association in that magnitude.”

In order to see the inauguration of the freshly elected executive council members, Dauran urged the invited guests and the wider public to disregard the publication.

He also warned the Nation and Independent newspapers that they would be sued if they didn't retract the item and apologize to the association within 48 hours.

ABCON sets operating hours for BDC operators

Legit.ng reported that the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has instructed its members to strictly adhere to operational business hours from 8am to 6pm.

In a memo signed by ABCON exco made available to Legit.ng, the association said defaulting members will face disciplinary action.

The association explained that the operating hours aligns with earlier mandates issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Security Agency (NSA), which require strict compliance with these operational hours to enhance transparency and regulate activities in the retail forex market.

Source: Legit.ng