Prime Business Africa
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fined Access Holdings N1.81 billion in 2025 for failing to fill two required roles and for failing to respond to two regulatory queries within the stipulated timelines regarding inappropriate cash disbursement practices.
CBN also penalised Access Holdings for infractions incurred in the risk asset examination report for the period January 1 to December 2023, and deviation from the requirement of Sections 2.3.3. and 2.3.4. of the guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies in Nigeria, 2014.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccess Holdings was also fined for failure to comply with the requirement of section 18 (c) of BOFIA 2020, regarding aggregate equity investment in foreign subsidiaries and failing to provide the account
opening documentation requested by CBN examiners following an investigation into a reported fraud in First Bank of Nigeria (FBN).
Also, the company was penalised for foreign exchange (FX) infractions incurred by authorised dealer, for inadequate know your customer (KYC), leading to fraud, and for anti-money laundering, combating the
financing of terrorism & countering proliferation financing (aml/cft/cpf) risk-based examination for the period of May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025.
Other penalties recorded are for the wrong classification of term deposits and non-operational accounts as other liabilities in settlement accounts, and a fine for non-compliance with the requirements of the operational guidelines on global standing instruction (GSI).
According to Access Holdings’ consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, in June 2025, CBN fined the lender N10 million for failing to fill two required roles.
In January of the same year, the regulator penalised the firm N1 billion for deviation from the requirement of Sections 2.3.3. and 2.3.4. of the guidelines for Licensing and Regulation of Financial Holding Companies in Nigeria, 2014.
It was gathered that, in the same month, Access Holdings paid N150 million as a penalty for failing to respond to two regulatory queries within the stipulated timelines regarding inappropriate cash disbursement practices.
Also, in January last year, CBN fined Access Holdings N42 million in respect of infractions incurred in the risk asset examination report for the period between January 1 and December 2023, while N200 million was paid for failure to comply with the requirement of section 18 (c) of BOFIA 2020 regarding aggregate equity investment in foreign subsidiaries in March 2025.
In May 2025, Access Holdings was fined N20 million for failing to provide the account opening documentation requested by CBN examiners, following an investigation into a reported fraud in First Bank of Nigeria.
Additionally, Access Holdings incurred a N20 million penalty for FX infractions incurred in May 2025, and in the same month, the lender recorded N138 million as a penalty for inadequate KYC leading to fraud in May 2025.
Also, anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism & countering proliferation financing risk-based examination for the period May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025, accounted for N35 million — out of the total penalties — in August 2025.
In addition, Access Holdings reported CBN fined the lender N100 million for the wrong classification of term deposits and non-operational accounts as other liabilities in settlement accounts in August 2025, while the firm paid N103 million for non-compliance with the requirements of the operational guidelines on global standing instruction in December 2025.
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Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
