The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reports being circulated in the media (BusinessDay not inclusive) that it had ordered the freezing of the accounts of some religious organisations, citing alleged suspicion of links with terrorist groups.

    Ugochukwu  Okoroafor, director, corporate communications, CBN, in a statement said that the CBN has been ordered the closure or freezing of the bank account of any religious body or any religious body or any institution whatsoever as alleged in the publications and posts. “There is, therefore, no iota of truth in these allegations,” he said.

    Prior to 2006, Nigeria was on the infamous list of the Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories (NCCTs) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog on financial crimes and removed from this undignified list on account of stringent actions taken by the Nigerian government.

    However, by 2007, as a result of loopholes in Nigeria’s legal and regulatory system, the country was included in the ‘grey list’ of countries that had not made appreciable progress in their Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regime by FATF.

    It was, therefore, incumbent on Nigerian authorities to ensure that her financial processes and procedures as well as the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2011, were in conformity with FATF recommendations and international best practices.

    Consequently, all Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) operating accounts in all financial institutions in Nigeria were required to update their account information to ensure that their respective businesses and vocations were registered as stipulated by the relevant statutes.

    “Once again, we appeal to reporters and publishers to exercise great circumspection in the publication and circulation of rumours and fabrications that undermine the good intentions of public policies”, he said.

    Meanwhile, the CBN sold Treasury Bills worth N242.11 billion during the week.

    This was disclosed by the Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA) on its website on Friday.

    The association, which comprised all financial institutions in the country, said that five categories of the treasury bills were sold at the last bi-monthly auction.

    It said that these included the 79-day, 115-day, 118-day and 182-day tenor bills.