Lagos — Nigeria is considering amendments to its foreign exchange (forex) laws to curb illegal fund transfers and insider dealing and stop individuals holding hard currency outside the country’s banking system, a draft bill showed on Monday. Nigeria is facing chronic dollar shortages caused by a slump in sales of and prices for crude oil, its mainstay, which has slashed government revenues, weakened the naira, stoked inflation and pushed the country into a recession. The draft bill, prepared by the Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC) that advises the government, said the new proposals were aimed at promoting the orderly development and maintenance of the currency market in Nigeria. Its provisions include making it an offence to hold hard currency in cash outside the banking system. "The possession of foreign currency by any person without depositing some in a domiciliary account within 30 days of its acquisition constitutes an offence liable on conviction to two years imprisonment...
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