CBN cautions Nigerians against use of fake SWIFT messages

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that it neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities.

Consequently, the CBN stated that petitioners’ claim that an alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only spurious but deceitful.

The apex bank advised the general public to be careful with unauthentic Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) messages and documents containing spurious claims of non-application of substantial foreign currency funds allegedly transferred into the beneficiary’s account.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hakama Sidi Ali (Mrs.) Ag. Director, Corporate Communications cautioned; “CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution”.

The CBN’s Ag. Director, Corporate Communications said the Central Bank of Nigeria has been inundated with claims by private entities, individuals, law firms and government agencies that foreign currency funds allegedly transferred to them by foreign entities have yet to be credited to their accounts with Nigerian banks.

According to her, in some instances, the claimants alleged that the funds were withheld by either the beneficiary bank in
Nigeria or the CBN and requested the assistance of the Bank towards releasing the funds to them.

The CBN highlighted; “the requests are usually supported with fake documents such as SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy, etc.”

The CBN stressed, “It has become imperative to state that the SWIFT ack copy and SWIFT MT103 that these claimants usually attach as evidence of remittance to beneficiary banks in Nigeria are not reliable.

“The SWIFT messages are always not traceable on the SWIFT platform, and the funds have not been received to enable their application to the beneficiary’s account.

“In a situation where a fund transfer beneficiary’s receiving bank claims non-receipt of funds remitted by the foreign entity (sending customer), instead of escalating such issue to CBN or Law
Enforcement Agencies, the standard practice is for the sending customer to contact the sending bank to send a tracer to trace where the fund is hanging and recall it.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state emphatically that the CBN neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities.

“Consequently, petitioners’ claim that the alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only spurious but deceitful”.

The CBN urged the public to be guided accordingly, and be careful with such unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents containing spurious claims of non-application of substantial foreign currency funds allegedly transferred into the beneficiary’s account.

Mrs. Ali stressed that “The CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution.”