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The investigation which involved regulatory bodies, security
services, anti-corruption and intelligence agencies is focusing on unravelling
those behind money laundering and other financial crimes through
cryptocurrencies in disregards to applicable laws and regulations, BrandIconImage
gathered.
The exercise is already achieving result in curbing
activities of forex speculators, safeguarding Nigeria’s foreign exchange market
and combating speculative activities.
Beyond the recent arrest of two executives of Binance, there
are feelers that Nigeria may slam billions of dollars fines on the company and
other cryptocurrency firms operating in the country.
The crypto companies were accused of engaging in currency
manipulations against the Nigeria’s Naira without underlying transactions, a
development which had contributed to the current FX liquidity crisis.
Some of the key law enforcement agencies, involved in the
exercise include the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Financial
Intelligence Unit (NFIU) among others.
When contacted the Head of Strategic Communicationat ONSA,
Zakari Mijinyawa told PRNigeria that the objective of the alliance is to
systematically identify, thoroughly investigate and appropriately penalize
individuals and organizations involved in wrongful activities within the FX
market.,
“The commitment of government through this process is to
neutralise all threats to our economic security and stabilise the FX market.
The outcomes from this interagency investigation will be made available in due
course.”
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr
Olayemi Cardoso, during the press briefing after the Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) meeting held on Monday and Tuesday in Abuja said that the apex bank is
currently working in collaboration with law enforcement agencies to tackle the
infractions and manipulations going on in the Forex market.
He disclosed that 26 billion dollars was siphoned through
Binance in one year alone, adding that all underhand dealings need to be
uncovered.
The apex bank boss said “what we are doing at the moment is
a collaboration between the CBN and law enforcement agencies to ensure that we
understand better what is going on in the market and where these infractions
are taking place and are speedily dealt with.
“Now I must say that as far as CBN is concerned, we are
moving to a very aggressive regulatory environment where those policies and
regulations must be complied with,” he added.
However, the federal government has reportedly detained two top executives of Binance, the cryptocurrency trading platform.
According to Financial Times on Wednesday, the executives flew to Nigeria but had their passports seized by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The report said the executives visited Nigeria in response to the country’s recent crackdown on various cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Although the reasons for their detention are unknown, their arrest is coming amid allegation of manipulation in foreign exchange trading in Nigeria.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, on February 21, 2024, said Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms should be banned from operating in the country
He said Binance is “blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria,” and hijacking the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The special adviser called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the CBN to move against the platforms, adding that the firms are trying to “manipulate our national currency to ground zero”.
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