The traders of cryptocurrency across Nigeria are currently terrorized due to the latest efforts made by Central Bank during the crackdown against cryptocurrencies. The extent of this crackdown is similar to that of China as per the methods being identical to those utilized by the Chinese government during this summer.
The halt
The Nigerian central bank has reportedly iced up the accounts of several crypto traders across the country. The order for the termination was approved and issued to the commercial banks through a circular (Post-No-Debit) that was sanctioned by J.Y. Mamman (the Banking Supervision Director) on 3rd November. As per the directive, Nnamdi Francis Okereke, TVS Hallmark Service Limited, and Nwaorgu Kingsley are the owners of the accounts which are being blacklisted. The circular noted that the banks were ordered to terminate the above-mentioned accounts due to their involvement in the activities related to crypto trading.
In February, a directive had been issued by the apex bank that prohibited all financial institutions and commercial banks from providing services for any crypto transaction. The orders caused an immense tumult as a considerable amount of the population had entered the crypto space during the period of currency devaluations as well as rising inflation. After the recent restrictions, some unconfirmed reports have been flowing among the agents of law enforcement who are visiting famous peer-to-peer forums regarding the identification of crypto traders. Following February’s ban, various Nigerians have taken an interest in peer-to-peer venues to flourish their operations regarding crypto trading. A well-known P2P venue “Paxful” reported that the country had acquired the position of being the second-largest crypto market following the United States.
Commercial banks complying with the instructions
As per the directive issued by the central bank, an internal memo has been issued by FCMB (First City Monument Bank) to the staff thereof, requiring them to describe the crypto affiliations thereof. The memo additionally directs the staff of the bank to report about the accounts run by persons aged between 18 and 30 having high volumes of transactions.
The reason behind the latest instructions was to secure the bank from potential criminal operations such as terrorist financing, money laundering, and organized gangs. Unconfirmed reports mentioned that a similar directive had been issued by the other banks to the staff thereof regarding crypto transactions. The authorities had previously disclosed that criminals are leveraging cryptocurrencies to assist their malicious purposes.
