CBN Goes After Commercial Banks Still Processing Cryptocurrency Transactions, Fine them N800m
- Three Nigerian banks have been indicted by the Central Bank of Nigeria for facilitating cryptocurrency transactions
- CBN is angry that despite its directives prohibiting the commercial banks from dealing with cryptocurrency was flouted
- The erring banks will now have to pay a total fine of N800 million with a serious warning against a repeat in the future
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Three commercial banks have been asked to pay a N800 million fine by the Central Bank of Nigeria for failing to allow cryptocurrency transactions despite its ban.
In a circular dated February 5, 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed all banks to desist from transacting in and with entities dealing in cryptocurrency.
The CBN also directed banks to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions within their systems.
Source: Getty Images
According to a report from Bloomberg, the sanctioned banks are Stanbic IBTC Bank, Access Bank Plc, and United Bank for Africa were found to have allowed transactions to go through.
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The report shows CBN had created a system to checkmate cryptocurrency transactions that commercial banks may have overlooked.
Breakdown of the fines
For the infraction, Access Bank Plc was fined N500 million for failing to shut down customers’ crypto accounts.
United Bank for Africa Plc was fined N100 million naira for a customer’s digital-currency transactions.
CBN penalized Stanbic IBTC Bank, the local unit of Standard Bank Group Ltd., N200 million for two accounts allegedly used for crypto transactions.
CEO reacts
According to PremuimTimes, Stanbic IBTC Bank, a unit of the Standard Bank Group Ltd. was fined N200m($478,595) for alleged crypto transactions traced to two accounts
The Chief Executive Officer Wole Adeniyi claimed the transaction may have passed its system by mistake.
He said:
“It doesn’t seem that they are going to entertain a refund, but they are now sharing intelligence with us to be able to kind of deter clients."
Investors poured N14.5 trillion into cryptocurrency in 2021 as demand for crypto-related jobs surged
Legit.ng had reported that the career networking site, LinkedIn said crypto job listings soared to an all-time high in 2021, rising by 395 percent.
According to the LinkedIn report, jobs like Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain, and cryptocurrency surged in 2021 in the US, which outpaced that of the tech industry, seeing a 98 percent rise during the same period.
The analysis said most of the postings were software-inclined and in finance positions. However, LinkedIn said demand for people in professional services such as accounting and consulting, staffing and computer software also rose.
Source: Legit.ng
