The federal government has launched a policy that would permit Nigerians who currently hold dollars outside the formal banking system to bring those funds into the financial system.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announced the policy yesterday while briefing State House correspondents after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
Edun said such individuals have a nine-month grace period to comply with the directive without attracting legal liability or financial penalties.
He said: “There is going to be a release today, details by the federal government through the Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the Central Bank, a programme, starting today, the 31st of October, and lasting nine months, that will allow people to bring in cash that is outside the banking system.
“Therefore, it is unsafe, it is unsecured and it is outside of legal limits. They will allow forbearance to bring dollar cash. Let me emphasise once again that it is to bring dollars that they are holding outside the system; to be able to bring them in and credit them to their bank accounts, as long as it is not proceeds of crime or illicit money. There will be no penalty, there will be no taxes, and there will be no questions.
“They just meet the normal Know Your Customer criteria of banks and they have an opportunity to bring in those funds, make them safe, make them secure, and make them available through normal economic activity.
“The details of that, the guidelines of that, will be released; first of all, the announcement by the Ministry of Finance and the guidelines will be followed very quickly by Central Bank.
“That is an opportunity, not just for people who would normally like to comply, to be compliant with the laws and normal business practice, but of course, it gives us an opportunity to bring those dollars from where they are doing nothing to where they are within the financial system; they add to our reserves, and of course can help with the exchange rate.”