Illicit Forex Dealings With CBN: BUA Refutes Involvement

LAGOS – The Nigeria Cement manufacturer, BUA Group has denied a report making the rounds on social media of its involvement in some illicit forex dealings with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from January to March 2016.

According to a statement issued on Monday, July 31, 2023 and made available to the media by the group’s media department, BUA Group described the accusations propagated online by ENigeria News and SecretReporters respectively, as false and entirely unfounded.

Thegroup said, “These mediums, known for their alledged involvement in cyberstalking, blackmail, and defamation, have faced previous arrests (see news reports attached) for such misconduct, casting a dark shadow over their credibility.

“We emphatically state that neither BUA Group nor the Chairman of the Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, received any of the alleged foreign exchange allocations from the CBN during the indicated period.

“This fact is corroborated by the CBN and the respective Banks. Furthermore, in compliance with CBN’s regulations, all forex transactions by Banks during 2016, were published publicly in national newspapers (some copies attached).

“These records, still accessibletoday, provide unequivocal evidence that counters these false allegations.

“We, therefore, challenge these media outlets and their sponsors to validate their claims with concrete evidence.

“We urge the public and our stakeholders to disregard these deceptive publications in light of these facts.

“We have engaged the necessary law enforcement agencies and initiated legal action against the perpetrators under the Cybercrime Prohibition Prevention Act, Laws of the Federation, 2015.”