The Upper House (Senate) has launched a probe into an alleged N30 trillion foreign exchange racketeering (forex scam) by commercial banks and importers.
The upper legislative chamber claims that the country lost over N30 trillion to the alleged diversion of forex between 2006 and 2017.
Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, on Wednesday, told banks to provide it with evidence that forex released by the Central Bank of Nigeria to importers was actually used for what it was meant for within three weeks, the Punch is reporting.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma told journalists after the meeting that his committee was mandated to “investigate and identify areas of revenue leakages in the entire import and export circle.”
He claimed that “all” banks in the country were suspected to have been responsible for the revenue loss.
He said the forex scam would be referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and security agencies at a certain level of the probe.
“In the course of the investigation, issues that border on financial crimes will be sent to the EFCC; the ones that are internal security issues will be sent to the various agencies. Government is one, whether you are in the executive or the National Assembly,” he said.
Uzodinma stated that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, would also be invited by the committee.
Uzodinma added, “What we are saying in essence is that the amount of foreign exchange the government is giving out to commercial banks and importers for the purpose of importation is not fully or not utilised as agreed.
“In essence, it is making foreign exchange scarce in the market; making the foreign exchange that the government is conceding to importers, not to be directed into activities of importation.
“We don’t see this as a healthy development because, in the process, so many companies are now ‘round tripping’, sending monies they don’t deserve out of this country without due process. This is what we are out to resolve.”
Recently, the CBN has pumped dollars into the economy to help stabilise the exchange rate at the height of the country’s economic recession. As most of the forex introduced into the economy was designated to importers, this probe is necessary, as Nigeria is a largely import-dependent economy.
The senate has undertaken a series of probes recently which have ended in controversies. It was also recently engaged in a quarrel with the Customs boss Hameed Ali over his refusal to wear the customs uniform. It is hoped that this probe will yield fruitful results.