The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reports that it directed commercial banks to identify and freeze accounts linked to cryptocurrency transactions.
According to a report, multiple news outlets had claimed that Nigerian lenders received orders to place a ‘Post No Debit’ hold on accounts associated with major crypto exchanges like Binance, KuCoin, OKX, and Bybit for six months.
A ‘Post No Debit’ instruction prevents any outgoing transfers or withdrawals from an account. The directive stated that these exchanges were operating illegally in Nigeria and were under investigation by economic crime authorities.
However, hours after the reports surfaced, the CBN issued a statement denying any such directive and dismissed it as fake news. The apex bank had only recently reversed its longstanding ban on crypto dealings by banks in December 2022.
Nigeria has intensified its crackdown on foreign crypto platforms in recent months amid allegations of forex manipulation. It has banned several exchanges like Bybit and KuCoin while suing Binance for enabling a “sophisticated heist” of the economy. A Binance executive is currently detained in Abuja on similar charges.
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