Nigerian banks monitor customer accounts for crypto transactions

In Nigeria, commercial banks have started monitoring accounts that appear to be used to trade cryptocurrencies.

This action is in response to an instruction from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) instructing all commercial banks to freeze the accounts of at least two people involved in cryptocurrency trading.

According to a report by the local leadership, an internal memo from one of the banks instructed staff to start monitoring accounts with significant trading volumes or those believed to be used by the bank to trade cryptocurrencies. According to Leadership, the memo reads:

“We would like to reiterate that CBN is closely monitoring non-compliance with the policy to close all crypto-related accounts due to severe regulatory sanctions. With this in mind, it is recommended that all employees here identify companies that trade or operate cryptocurrency exchanges in their systems and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately. ”

The document emphasizes that employees who knowingly fail to disclose their accounts in cryptocurrency trading will be penalized. All employees are now required to participate in the monitoring of accounts, transactions and customers to ensure that internal communications show that the bank is fully compliant with the CBN requirements.

Accounts that can be flagged include accounts of fintech companies with a high volume of daily transactions without a payment license or accounts that contain cryptocurrency in a memo or manifest their business.

Individual accounts with large inflows and outflows over several days as well as small companies with more daily sales than they should are also marked with a red flag. It also suspects accounts that receive multiple funds from multiple payees and make multiple payments to multiple beneficiaries.

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CBN claims in the letter, which began circulating on social media less than a week after e-naira launched, that the accounts are being used to trade cryptocurrencies in violation of the central bank’s February 5 order.

In a statement on Twitter, Senator Ineynyen, Head of Stakeholders in the Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), judged CBN’s decision to be illegal and unfair. According to Ineynyen, only Nigerian lawmakers have the authority to oversee Bitcoin regulations.

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