Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to be careful not to violate the money laundering Act.
The warning is coming as the 2019 elections approach and political manoeuvring intensify.
Banks that violate the Act in the guise of handling money for politicians, the apex bank warned, risk stiff penalty.
Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor, said: “On the 2019 elections, we had a meeting with the banks. We advised them to be very careful of money laundry issues. If they are caught, they will be heavily penalised. But banks have their rules and criteria; I don’t think banks will do anything that will violate the rules. When they go wrong, we will deal with them.
“When you say banks lending to politicians, banks have their acceptance criteria and I don’t think that the banks will do that at this time. Everybody must have learnt their lessons and I believe that the right thing for everybody is to conduct their businesses carefully. But we as central bank, we are staying behind and watching to make sure that when things go wrong or about to go wrong we will deal with it appropriately.”
