The Central Bank of Nigeria has threatened to sanction Deposit Money Banks that continue to reject old and small denominations of the U.S dollar bills.

The CBN which issued this warning in a circular signed by its acting Director of the Currency Operations Department of CBN, Solaja Mohammed, also urged Bureau De Change operators and the public to desist from defacing the notes.

It said the directive followed the outcome of a customer market intelligence conducted by the bank which revealed rejection of old and lower denominations of dollar bills by commercial banks and forex traders.

This development is coming months after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission began the arrest and prosecution of Nigerians mutilating and defacing the naira.