SAN FRANCISCO, September 20, (THEWILL) – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is reviewing the recent sanctions placed on MTN and four commercial banks.
The banks – Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic-IBTC, Citibank and Diamond Bank – were last month fined N5.87 billion by the apex bank for breach of capital importation policy.
The CBN had accused the banks of remitting foreign exchange with irregular Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) issued on behalf of some offshore investors of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited.
In a statement released on Wednesday by CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor,
the apex bank said the parties involved have submitted fresh documents in response to the sanctions.
“The recent sanctions on the banks arose due to irregularities with respect to repatriations made on behalf of MTN Nigeria Limited and were not in any way designed to restrict access to investor returns,” the statement read.
“In response to the recent regulatory actions, the Banks and MTN are engaging the CBN and have provided additional information which is currently being reviewed with a view to arriving at an equitable solution.”
The apex bank assured foreign investors that there will be no retroactive application of foreign exchange rules and regulations.
“We assure all investors that the integrity of the CCI regime remains sacrosanct,” the bank said.
“We wish to restate that the CBN will continue to welcome foreign investments and investors. Indeed, some of our recent innovations and reforms of the Foreign Exchange regime such as the introduction of the NAFEX window, are designed to simplify foreign exchange regulations.
“Furthermore, the delegation of the issuance of Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs) to commercial and merchant banks some years ago was done to instil confidence in the investor community and encourage the flow of foreign direct and portfolio investments into the Nigerian economy.
“The CBN welcomes all legitimate investors to take advantage of the enormous investment opportunities in Nigeria.”
Although all parties have denied the allegations, the bank has deducted the fines from their accounts.
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