CBN grants 7 barred companies access to bank accounts for payment of winnings, salaries

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday granted banks approval to allow the seven betting and gaming companies banned for forex infraction, access to their accounts for payment of winning, salaries and other overhead expenses.

This was stated in a circular to one of the tier two banks on ‘contravention of extant foreign exchange regulation’, co-signed by Jeremiah Abue, director, governor’s department and Bello Hassan, director, banking supervision department and seen by BusinessDay.

The CBN had on September 5, 2020 directed all deposit money banks to place 38 companies on post-no-debit with immediate effect.

Related News

However at the meeting held by the governor of the CBN with one of the banks and stakeholders of seven betting and gaming companies on September 11 2020, the lender pleaded for clemency processing some transactions in violation of the extant foreign exchange regulations. Similarly, the betting and gaming companies intreated the Governor to allow them discharge operational expenses.

“Consequently, the Management of CBN has magnanimously granted your bank the approval to honour instruments presented by the companies for payment of winnings, salaries and other overhead expenses.”

However, the CBN warned that the post-no-debit restriction on the accounts of the companies still in place subject to the identified exceptions

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.