Some $26bn passed through Binance Nigeria in the past 12 months, heightening concerns that cryptocurrency was used to facilitate illicit financial flows and currency manipulation.
That’s according to Central Bank of Nigeria governor Olayemi Cardoso, who revealed that the country’s cryptocurrency landscape is under serious scrutiny, as authorities look to stabilise the naira.
A week prior, on February 22, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) received instructions from the Central Bank of Nigeria to ban access to crypto trading sites, including Binance and Kraken. Many users however reported that the block had thus fart failed to completely stop all traffic.
Cardoso's latest remarks, made on February 27, suggested that the Central Bank had a responsibility to protect Nigerian people, which includes racking down on crypto.
“We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities and suspicious flows at best. In the case of Binance, in the last one year alone, $26bn has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” he said.
To find out where the money has gone, Cardoso is collaborating with the EFCC, the Police, and the office of the NSA, he said.
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