By Seun Ibiyemi
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed a total of about N391 million in penalties on Custodian Investment Plc in the 2025 financial year over multiple regulatory infractions, underscoring tighter enforcement of compliance rules in the financial sector.
Details contained in the company’s audited financial statements filed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that the CBN accounted for the bulk of the N419.13 million total penalties paid by the firm during the year, a sharp rise from N19.17 million recorded in 2024.
The largest sanction from the apex bank was a N240 million fine for breaching the intraday liquidity facility (ILF) on a bond transaction.
The ILF is a critical short-term funding window designed to help financial institutions settle time-sensitive transactions within the same day, with strict repayment conditions.
In addition, the CBN imposed a N76 million penalty for non-compliance with Customer Due Diligence requirements, as well as N75 million for failure to implement internal audit corrections involving a misclassified high-risk customer.
The sanctions highlight the regulator’s intensified focus on risk management, anti-money laundering compliance, and adherence to operational guidelines among financial institutions.
Other regulators also imposed smaller fines on the company, including penalties related to environmental compliance, delayed regulatory filings, and Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision issues.
Custodian Investment, however, disclosed that the N240 million ILF-related fine—linked to a transaction carried out on behalf of Sterling Bank Plc—has been fully recovered from the counterparty, reducing the net financial impact.
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Despite the regulatory penalties, the company posted strong financial results, with profit before tax rising to N77.35 billion and net income reaching N91.32 billion for the 2025 financial year.
The firm noted that the total fines accounted for less than one percent of its earnings, indicating minimal impact on overall profitability.
The development comes amid broader efforts by the CBN to strengthen oversight and enforce compliance across Nigeria’s financial system, particularly in areas related to liquidity management, customer due diligence, and financial reporting.
