CBN Warns Public Against Fraudulent SWIFT Messages, Urges Vigilance

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, cautioned the public over 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. 

The central bank also threatened to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution.

In a statement, CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, noted that the bank had 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.

Essentially, SWIFT code is a standard format used when making international transfers between banks and financial institutions. 

The code identifies the branch, bank, and country an account is registered in and communicates the who, what, and where, through Bank Identifier Codes (BIC).

However, the central bank said the petitioners’ claim that the alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN was not only spurious but deceitful.

The CBN acting director, stressed that the apex bank neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities.

Sidi Ali, noted that 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.

She said, “The requests are usually supported with fake documents such as SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy, etc.

“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.”

Similarly, the CBN further alerted the public to the activities of fraudsters purporting to be in receipt of award letters of contracts related to construction works and special financial interventions on behalf of the apex bank.

In a statement, CBN acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, said the individuals were solely motivated by the desire to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. 

She said any such assertions are fraudulent and should be disregarded.

The central bank further emphasised that in line with the focus of its current management, it has discontinued direct development interventions and special projects funding.

Furthermore, the CBN pointed out that it has not authorised public notices for such interventions on social media platforms or any other news outlet.

Sidi Ali, therefore, reaffirmed the commitment to the bank’s core mandate of ensuring monetary and price stability, and a sound and efficient financial system in the country.

The CBN encouraged the public to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspicious activities or publications to the relevant law enforcement agencies.

During his maiden interview on Arise Television in February, CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, had announced that the apex bank was discontinuing its various intervention programmes because of their contribution to inflation and lack of capacity on the part of the bank to manage them effectively.

Cardoso clarified that contrary to speculations, he had nothing against the central bank’s interventions in the economy, pointing out that this remained a standard practice globally especially in times of crisis.

However, he said such interventions needed to be well-thought out in order not to distabilise the economy, adding that too much liquidity had been injected into the economy in a relatively short space of time which he said was particularly detrimental to monetary policy.

Cardoso explained that loans and advances in the economy stood at about N40 trillion of which CBN interventions accounted for about 25 per cent. 

He said such liquidity injections were responsible for the current distortions including inflation in the economy because they were not properly managed.

He pointed out that the CBN currently lacked the capacity for direct interventions, and would rather focus efforts on its primary mandate to control inflation, stabilise prices, and ensure a stable economic environment. 

He added that the apex bank would instead partner with those who have the capacity to manage such interventions in a way that they would not mismanage the funds but also get the desired outcomes.

The fraudsters are taking advantage of the vacuum to try to fleece the unsuspecting public through contract, and project funding enticement.

James Emejo

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