Investors seeking to establish Coin Finance Company Ltd have asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to refund N100.35m paid for a finance house licence, alongside applicable interest, after the bank suspended new licence applications.
The investors said the funds had remained with the apex bank for more than a year without progress on their application or a clear timeline for a refund.
The promoter’s representative, Christopher Itua, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the investors paid N100m as capital deposit, N100,000 as application fee and N250,000 as licensing fee on July 16, 2025.
According to Itua, CBN officials informed the promoters in October 2025 that the processing of new finance house applications had been suspended indefinitely.
He said he subsequently wrote to the CBN Department of Financial Policy and Regulation on October 15, 2025, requesting a refund with applicable interest.
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The promoters also petitioned the CBN Consumer Protection Department on May 18, 2026, and sent a follow-up letter on July 7, but claimed they had received neither a refund timeline nor a substantive update.
“It has now been over 14 months since the CBN took possession of our capital,” Itua said in his latest appeal to the CBN governor.
He said the proposed finance house was intended to address financing gaps faced by small businesses and grassroots entrepreneurs.
“The macro is doing well, but the micro is not. This is the missing link because there are not enough institutions to power that sector,” he said.
Itua argued that the prolonged retention of the funds had stalled the investors’ plans to establish the institution and support grassroots economic activities.
The investors are asking the CBN to calculate applicable interest on the N100.35m from the date of payment until the funds are returned.
They said they had submitted payment receipts, transaction documents and previous correspondence to support their request.
Itua appealed to the CBN governor to intervene and resolve the matter administratively, warning that the investors could pursue further administrative and legal options if the delay continued.
The promoters said they preferred an amicable resolution without escalating the dispute.
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