The Central Bank of Nigeria has unveiled a stricter operating framework for international money transfers, ordering all operators to route transactions through designated naira settlement accounts in a move aimed at tightening control over diaspora inflows and reinforcing transparency in the foreign exchange market.

The directive, contained in a March 24 circular signed by the Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, Dr. Musa Nakorji, requires all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to open and maintain naira settlement accounts with authorized dealer banks. The circular, published on the bank’s website, takes effect from May 1, 2026.

According to the apex bank, the measure is part of a broader effort to “enhance diaspora remittances, strengthen transparency, traceability, and effective monitoring of all transactions.”

Under the new rules, “all IMTOs are hereby directed to open naira settlement accounts and ensure that all transactions are routed strictly through their designated settlement accounts, maintained with Authorized Dealer Banks (ADBs) in Nigeria.” The instruction effectively centralizes the processing of remittance inflows, beneficiary payouts, and related settlements within the formal banking system.

The framework introduces tighter controls on how these accounts are funded. The CBN stated that settlement accounts “shall only be credited with remittance flows and proceeds of foreign exchange conversions by licensed IMTOs (or their agents)” operating within the Nigerian foreign exchange market. IMTOs are permitted to operate multiple accounts across different banks, but must formally designate them and submit details to the regulator, with updates provided periodically.

In a further attempt to standardize the market, the central bank directed operators to anchor pricing to live market data. IMTOs “shall observe real-time market prices from the Bloomberg BMATCH and utilize this as guidance for pricing transactions with their customers and Authorized Dealers,” the circular said. The bank added that the requirement is intended to “improve price discovery, reduce information asymmetry between IMTOs and banks, and encourage increased participation in the official FX market.”

The policy also broadens the role of authorized dealer banks, allowing them to process foreign currency transfers from IMTO settlement accounts to other banks and approved participants, including licensed Bureau De Change operators. This provision is expected to improve liquidity circulation within the official market, which has struggled with fragmented supply and persistent reliance on parallel channels.

The directive pinpoints the regulator’s determination to bring a larger share of Nigeria’s diaspora remittances, one of the country’s most stable sources of foreign exchange, into the formal system. For years, a significant portion of these inflows has bypassed official channels, driven by exchange rate differentials and operational inefficiencies.

The CBN is attempting to close that gap, improve visibility over cross-border flows, and strengthen its ability to manage the naira by enforcing stricter routing and pricing rules. The emphasis on compliance is explicit. Operators are required to maintain detailed transaction records and adhere fully to anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing standards.

“This directive takes effect from May 1, 2026. Please note and ensure compliance,” the circular stated.

Analysts say the success of the policy will depend much on whether the official market can offer competitive pricing and seamless execution. While tighter oversight may reduce leakages, sustained inflows will depend on user confidence, particularly among diaspora senders who often prioritize speed and exchange rates.

The move comes amid broader external pressures. Global disruptions linked to tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran have begun to filter into commodity markets, affecting everything from energy prices to agricultural inputs. Dangote Industries Limited said demand for its fertilizer products has surged amid supply constraints, highlighting how geopolitical shocks are reshaping trade flows and intensifying the need for stable foreign exchange buffers.

Thus, the CBN’s latest directive is part of a continuing effort to assert greater control over currency flows and maintain the relative stability that the naira has recently recorded.

A federal judge in California suggested on Tuesday that the Pentagon’s unprecedented blacklisting of artificial intelligence firm Anthropic may have been motivated by the company’s public stance on AI safety rather than genuine national security concerns.

The case stems from Anthropic’s lawsuit challenging the Department of Defense’s designation of the company as a “national security supply-chain risk,” a label that effectively blocks it from certain military contracts. The company contends the move violates its constitutional rights, including free speech and due process, after refusing to let its Claude AI software be used for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons, citing reliability and ethical concerns.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, a Biden appointee, said during the hearing in San Francisco that the designation “looks like an attempt to cripple Anthropic” and suggested it may be punitive.

“It looks like DOW is punishing Anthropic for trying to bring public scrutiny to this contract dispute,” she said, referring to the Department of War, President Donald Trump’s rebranding of the Defense Department.

The Anthropic lawsuit, filed on March 9, argues that the Pentagon overstepped its authority by imposing the supply-chain risk label without giving the company an opportunity to respond, in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Anthropic also claims that the move constitutes retaliation for speaking out on AI safety, implicating First Amendment protections.

During the hearing, the company’s attorney, Michael Mongan, described the designation as a distorted use of federal procurement law.

“The logical implication of their position here is they can point to their frustrations in a contract negotiation, the stubbornness of the vendor, and say, ‘because you’re working in an area that touches national security, we’re going to tell the world that we think you might come around in the future and sabotage our systems,’” Mongan said.

The Department of Justice, defending the Pentagon, argued that the designation was a precautionary measure. DOJ attorney Eric Hamilton said the company’s reluctance to allow military use of Claude created an unacceptable operational risk.

“What happens if Anthropic, through an update, installs a kill switch or installs functionality that allows it to change how the software is functioning when our warfighters need it most? That is an unacceptable risk,” he said.

Anthropic has warned that the designation could cost the company billions of dollars in lost contracts and reputational damage. The label is notable as the first public use of this obscure procurement statute against a U.S.-based company. A separate lawsuit in Washington, D.C., challenges another Pentagon supply-chain designation that could exclude Anthropic from civilian government contracts.

Judge Lin said she would issue a written ruling on the request for a temporary block of the designation in the coming days. The case is just one among others, and highlights growing tensions between AI developers seeking to assert ethical boundaries and the military’s insistence on secure, controllable systems, with potential implications for AI companies nationwide.

Anthropic executives maintain that AI models remain insufficiently reliable for deployment in weapons systems and domestic surveillance. Their stance has sparked a wider debate over the ethical and strategic use of AI in national defense, and whether government agencies can wield procurement law to enforce compliance.

The lack of established AI regulation has made the case attractive as it is expected to set a precedent for how AI firms interact with the U.S. military.