Nigeria’s Crypto Ban: CBN Hits 3 Banks With N800m Fine
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The Central Bank of Nigeria has fined three banks for failing to enforce its directive regarding the crypto ban in Nigeria
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According to Bloomberg, the banks failed to block the accounts of customers that were carrying out cryptocurrency transactions
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The three banks, Stanbic IBTC, Access Bank, and UBA have been hit with a combined fine of N800 million
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has fined three Nigerian banks for their failure to comply with orders relating to the ban on cryptocurrencies.
According to a report that was released by Bloomberg on Wednesday, the three banks failed to block the accounts of customers who were carrying out cryptocurrency transactions.
The banks that broke this regulation, Stanbic IBTC, Access Bank, and UBA, were fined a combined N800 million for non-compliance.
United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) incurred a penalty of N100 million, according to a filing with the Nigerian Exchange Ltd.
Stanbic IBTC Bank was hit with a N200 million fine after two accounts were found to have been used for cryptocurrency transactions.
Access Bank Plc suffered the heaviest financial penalty as the company was fined N500 million for its failure to close cryptocurrency-related accounts.
Read also: MetaMask Launches Stunning Crypto Update for Apple Pay Users
The imposed fine follows an order on crypto ban that the CBN released in February 2021. The circular mandated that banks close accounts of persons or entities that were found to be carrying out crypto transactions within their systems.
Prior to that, the CBN had in January 2017 claimed that cryptocurrencies are used to finance terrorism and money laundering in the country.
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