3 Nigerian Banks To Pay N800M To CBN, Over Crypto Transactions

• 3 Nigerian Banks Fined 800M over crypto transaction

• Access Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC, and the United Bank for Africa Plc, involved in crypto transactions

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EKO HOT BLOG has confirmed that three Commercial Banks in the country have been fined N800 million by the Central Bank of Nigeria for breaking regulations prohibiting clients from trading in cryptocurrencies.

The three banks are Access Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC, and the United Bank for Africa Plc, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

The sanctions, according to the article, are part of the apex bank’s efforts to ensure that banks follow an order to stop trading in cryptocurrencies because of the damage they pose to Nigeria’s financial system.

The CBN released a circular in February 2021 that contained the directive.

Furthermore, the CBN ordered banks to close the accounts of two individuals and a firm in November for allegedly trading in cryptocurrency.

Despite these restrictions, according to Paxful, a Bitcoin marketplace, Nigeria has the highest volume of bitcoin transactions outside of the US.

According to Chainalysis, the country also has the highest proportion of retail consumers completing crypto transactions under $10,000.

The report confirmed that Access Bank was fined N500m for failure to close customers’ crypto accounts, according to a filing with the Nigerian Exchange Limited while UBA incurred a N100m penalty for digital-currency transactions by a customer.

Stanbic IBTC’s Chief Executive Officer, Wole Adeniyi, said during an investor conference call in Lagos on Tuesday that his bank had been fined N200 million ($478,595) for two accounts allegedly used for crypto transactions.

While Stanbic IBTC complied with the apex bank’s directive, Adeniyi believes the transactions for which it was sanctioned may have slid through its system undetected.

He said the CBN used an “advanced capability” that Nigerian banks don’t have, and they’ve urged the central bank to share the technology.

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“It doesn’t appear that they will consider a refund,” he continued, “but they are now sharing intelligence with us in order to dissuade clients.”

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