Super Agents Get N20m Fine For Ownership Changes Without Approval – Central Bank

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has imposed a N20 cardinal good connected immoderate ace agent, fiscal institution, oregon entity that alters its ownership operation without securing anterior support from the apex bank.

This sanction, contained successful the Guidelines for the Operations of Agent Banking successful Nigeria issued successful October 2025, is portion of measures enactment successful spot by the CBN’s efforts to tighten regulatory compliance crossed the fast-growing cause banking ecosystem.

According to the document, immoderate ace cause oregon fiscal instauration recovered blameworthy of changing ownership, undergoing an acquisition, oregon executing a merger without the CBN’s authorisation volition look “a good of not little than N20,000,000 for the offence and N500,000 for each time that the default continues.”

Under the caller framework, the CBN volition besides enforce further fines for a scope of infractions, including operating without a valid licence, engaging successful non-permissible banking activities, precocious rendition of returns, and nonaccomplishment to get regulatory “No Objection” anterior to cardinal concern changes.

The guidelines authorities that operating without a valid ace cause licence attracts a minimum punishment of N10 million, portion nonaccomplishment to get CBN support for specified activities draws a good of N2 cardinal for some the fiscal instauration and each of its liable directors.

While the guidelines instrumentality contiguous effect, definite provisions, peculiarly those concerning cause determination and exclusivity, volition beryllium enforced from April 1, 2026. Also, agents engaged successful non-permissible cause banking activities volition look fines starting from N5 million, regular penalties of N100,000, and whitethorn beryllium required to forfeit immoderate estimated profits gained from specified activities.

Branding and advertizing practices that contravene the guidelines volition pull fines of nary little than N2 cardinal and an other N50,000 for each time the usurpation continues. Failing to get CBN support oregon a No Objection Letter erstwhile required volition effect successful a N2 cardinal good imposed connected the fiscal institution, with the aforesaid magnitude levied connected each liable manager oregon elder absorption unit member.

Institutions that hold the submission of required periodic returns volition incur fines starting astatine N2 million, successful summation to N250,000 for each time of delay. Providing mendacious oregon inaccurate accusation to the CBN volition pull a minimum good of N5 million, alongside the imaginable suspension oregon removal of the progressive directors by the CBN Governor.

Failure to support due accounting records volition incur a minimum good of N5 cardinal for the fiscal institution. Where the breach is deemed wilful, the liable serviceman volition look an further good of N2 million.

Not responding to non-statutory CBN accusation requests wrong the prescribed play and format could effect successful fines of up to N5 cardinal and an further N100,000 per time until compliance is achieved.

In summation to the header offence, changing a concern name, firm marque identity, oregon logo without the CBN’s support oregon utilizing names not antecedently approved volition gully a good of nary little than N5 million, on with a mandatory reversion to the approved individuality and a regular punishment of N100,000 for continued non-compliance.

Violations of anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of coercion (CFT), and countering proliferation financing (CPF) laws volition pull a N10 cardinal good from the fiscal instauration and N2 cardinal from each committee subordinate involved. Additional penalties whitethorn travel nether the CBN’s 2018 AML/CFT/CPF administrative sanctions regulations.

Where fraud oregon related offences occur, fiscal institutions are required to assistance instrumentality enforcement agencies with investigations and prosecutions. If an cause is recovered to beryllium involved, the main instauration indispensable instantly suspend the cause pending the result of investigations and blacklist the cause if convicted.

Failure by principals oregon Super Agents to instrumentality power measures specified arsenic geo-locking instrumentality utilized successful cause banking volition pull a minimum good of N5 million, positive a regular punishment of N300,000 for the duration of non-compliance.