Nigeria Calls for Cryptocurrency Regulation to Combat Financial Crimes
Date: 2024-02-12 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: IN WORLD
Addressing Financial Crimes
Adedeji Ovonibi, a co-founder of A & D Forensics, emphasized the necessity for Nigeria to regulate cryptocurrency activities within the country to establish appropriate laws. He highlighted the absence of regulatory acts in Nigeria's crypto space, allowing various practices to remain unchecked.
Ensuring Compliance
Despite the recent lift of the ban on cryptocurrency transactions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ovonibi explained that compliance training for specialists aims to ensure banks adhere to relevant laws when interacting with Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
Preventing Misuse
Ovonibi stressed the importance of Nigerian financial institutions employing compliance specialists to ensure funds passing through their exchange aren't used for criminal activities.
Regulatory Measures
The Central Bank prohibited banks and other financial institutions from opening accounts for cryptocurrency service providers. However, guidelines were issued allowing VASPs, including crypto organizations, to open accounts in Nigerian banks.
Local Cryptocurrency Exchange Licensing
Local crypto analysts advised the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) to review guidelines for VASPs to enable local crypto exchanges to obtain licenses to operate in the country.
