[ad_1]
By Jonathan Nda- Isaiah, Emameh Gabriel |
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, chairman Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, and Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit (NFIU) yesterday told the Senate that cryptocurrency is being used as a channel for funding violent crimes, terrorism, just as it has become a clearing house for money laundering.
This is just as President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an overhaul of the national strategy on cybersecurity, urging more emphasis on exploring the internet for economic growth opportunities, enhancement of knowledge and mitigation of crime.
Emefiele in his presentation before the Senate joint committee on Banking and Finance, Capital Market, ICT/Cyber Crime, said Nigeria has become a focal destination for virtual currency exchange, coming second in the world after the United States.
Emefiele said that Nigeria is currently vulnerable, which necessitated the decision to check and monitor the activities of faceless players in cyberspace who could use the dark platform to promote violence crimes in Nigeria.
He further disclosed that the CBN has issued directives to investigate and track illegal transactions through the crypto-exchange to unmask actors behind dark transactions, noting that the Apex Bank has taken it as a great concern since Nigerians stumbled into cryptocurrency.
He said because players in the dark financial system cannot be trailed that is why most governments in the world have not approved of it.
Emefiele stated: “Since when Nigeria stumbled into its usage, we have been studying its development. We know enough at this stage to decide that the continuation of this crooked activity significantly threatens the safety and soundness of our financial system.
“CBN has a major and primary responsibility as a primary regulator to protect activities of all actors and stakeholders and particularly uninformed actors in that space. That is why we have asked all banks to desist from operating cryptocurrency accounts in Nigeria.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we have asked our banking supervisors, our payment system and our ICT department to conduct a thorough investigation into the activities of current exchanges and their major players.
“The results of the investigation will lead to better understanding of their activities and may unveil their fraud in due…
[ad_2]
Source link
