The Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has remanded 16 Bureau de Change operators at the Correctional Centre for unlawful business.

The court held that their action violatedthe Banks and Other Financial Institution Act of 2020.

The decision followed an ex parte application brought by the police asking for time to complete their investigation and charge the suspect to the appropriate court.

The Presiding Magistrate Alatuwor Fubara adjourned the matter to March 7, 2024.

The operatives of theEconomic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)and the police had raided BDC operators along the GRA and Rumuola axis of Port Harcourt last week and arrested many of them.

The EFCC and policemen were spotted in six trucks running after the BDC operators, who were fond of gatheringaround the Presidential Hotel.

The Chairman of Bureau de Change Operators in the State, Sanni Saka, had lamented that over 100 of his members, including himself were nabbed by operatives of the anti-graft agency.

Saka said his members were not responsiblefor the higher exchange rate of the Dollar against the Naira and called for their release.(The Nation)