The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) announced plans to cancel the certificates of incorporation for Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators whose licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In February, the CBN revoked the licenses of 4,173 BDC operators for failing to meet regulatory guidelines. The revocation was part of the CBN’s efforts to ensure compliance with the financial regulations governing the sector.

According to a statement by CBN’s acting Director of Corporate Communications, Sidi Hakama, the affected institutions failed to meet several regulatory provisions. These include the non-payment of necessary fees, failure to render returns in line with guidelines, and non-compliance with directives and circulars, especially those related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation Financing (CPF) regulations.

“The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions: Payment of all necessary fees, including license renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines. Rendition of returns in line with the guidelines; compliance with guidelines, directives, and circulars of the CBN, particularly AML, CFT, and CPF regulations,” the CBN stated.

Following this directive, the CAC issued a notice on its website on Wednesday, advising the affected companies to change their names and objects within three months. Failure to comply will result in the cancellation of their certificates of incorporation.

“The general public is hereby informed that following the revocation of the operational licenses of 4,173 Bureau De Change companies by the Central Bank of Nigeria vide a Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (Vol. 111) No. 37 of February 27, 2024, for noncompliance with Regulatory Standards, the Corporate Affairs Commission in the exercise of its powers under section 8(1)(e ) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 advises these companies to within three months from the date of this publication, change the names and objects of such companies,” the CAC notice read.

“Failure to change the names and objects within the stipulated time frame shall result in cancellation of certificate of incorporation and dissolution. It is to be noted that it is unlawful for a company whose certificate has been deemed dissolved to carry on business,” the notice added.