The Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, has convicted three illegal Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) -the prosecuting agency – said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement said the trio – Mustapha Idris, Hassan Bala and Ajayi Isaac – identified as indigenes of Chikanda in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, were prosecuted on charges of running a BDC without obtaining a valid licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The trial judge, Olukayode Ariwoola, sentenced Mr Idris to 250 hours of community service without an option of fine and ordered the forfeiture of CfA 33,000 and N323,000 recovered from him to the federal government.

He sentenced Mr Bala to six months imprisonment or a fine of N200,000, and ordered the convict to forfeit Cfa 677,500 and N881,900 recovered from him.

Likewise, the judge sentenced Mr Isaac to six months in prison or a fine of N500,000, while also ordering the convict to forfeit $31 recovered from him to the Federal Government.

EFCC brought the charges against them under section 57 (1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, which prohibits any person without a valid licence from engaging in specialised banking or other financial institution business, including forex trading, in Nigeria.

Section 57(5) of the law provides that any person found culpable is liable to a minimum imprisonment of five years, a fine of at least N2 million and an additional fine of no less than N50,000 for each day the violation persists, or both imprisonment and fine.

If the offender is a corporate body, the law provides for a fine of N10 million and N200,000 for each day the violation persists.

EFCC arrested the defendants in July 2024.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During their trial, EFCC prosecutors Sesan Ola and Andrew Akoja called witnesses and tendered extra-judicial statements of the defendants and different currencies recovered from the trio as exhibits.

The prosecution counsel urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.

The activities of illegal foreign exchange operators are believed to contribute to the depreciation of naira and a conduit for money laundering.

In 2024, PREMIUM TIMES reported the demolition of shanties and structures of BDC operators in Abuja.

The office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in February 2024, announced its partnership with CBN, EFCC, Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to combat the activities of illegal foreign exchange operators.