The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a strong warning to the public about fraudulent individuals and organisations circulating fake SWIFT messages that falsely claim foreign currencies are being held by Nigerian banks or the apex bank.
A SWIFT message is a secure, encrypted communication used by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (network to facilitate international money transfers.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, clarified that the CBN does not offer correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks or maintain accounts for private business entities.
The apex bank further emphasised that any claims regarding withheld foreign currency funds are false and misleading.
CBN’s statement read, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has recently received numerous claims from private individuals, entities, law firms, and government agencies alleging that foreign currency transfers sent to them by foreign entities have not been credited to their Nigerian bank accounts.
“Some of these claimants further assert that the funds are being withheld either by their Nigerian banks or the CBN, requesting the Bank’s intervention to release the funds. These claims are often supported by fake documents, including SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy, and others.”
The statement continued to explain that these documents, which claim to serve as proof of remittance, are unreliable.
It added, “The SWIFT Ack copy and SWIFT MT103 attached by these claimants are typically not traceable on the SWIFT platform, and the funds in question have not been received by the beneficiary banks for crediting to their accounts.”
The CBN emphasised that in cases where beneficiaries report non-receipt of transferred funds, they should not escalate the matter to the CBN or law enforcement agencies.
Instead, the sender’s bank should be contacted to send a tracer to locate the funds or recall the transfer.
The statement further clarified, “It is important to note that the CBN neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in international payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities. Therefore, claims that foreign funds meant for private entities are trapped in the CBN are not only unfounded but also deceitful.”
The public was urged to remain cautious of such fraudulent SWIFT messages and documents, which contain spurious claims of foreign currency funds that have allegedly not been applied to the beneficiary’s account.
The CBN also issued a stern warning that any bank customer found making fraudulent claims will be reported to law enforcement agencies for further investigation and prosecution.