The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied instructing banks to restrict cryptocurrency accounts.

In a post on X on Wednesday, CBN clarified that the circular did not originate from the bank, urging the public to visit its official website for “authentic updates”.

According to the circular, all deposit money banks (DMBs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and other financial institutions (OFIs) were directed to identify persons and entities transacting in cryptocurrencies and ensure such accounts are put on post-no-debit (PND) instruction for six months.

In February 2021, CBN issued a circular to deposit money banks (DMBs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and OFIs to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions within their systems.

The regulator further warned local financial institutions against dealing in crypto assets or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.

CBN cited concerns over money laundering (ML), terrorism financing (TF), cybercrime, and the volatility of cryptocurrencies as reasons for the ban.

However, on December 22, 2023, CBN lifted the ban and directed all banks and other financial institutions to carry out cryptocurrency services.

The apex bank also issued operational guidelines on virtual assets service providers (VASPs) to all banks and OFIs.

According to the CBN, VASPs means any entity that conducts exchange between virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), fiat currencies and transfers of virtual assets.

The development signals a shift from CBN’s initial position which restricts crypto transactions.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operations of Dana Air, TheCable understands.

The directive followed the incident involving a Dana Air plane at Lagos airport on April 23, which forced aviation authorities to divert flights from local to international airport.

The suspension was approved by Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen over 300 accounts linked to illicit foreign exchange (FX) trading.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Ola Olukoyede, EFCC’s chairman, said the agency secured a court order to freeze the accounts.

“We got an order to freeze those accounts imagine what would have happened if we didn’t seize those accounts,” he said.

“There are people in this country doing worse than Binance,” he said.

Olukoyede said over $15 billion passed through one of the platforms in the last year, which was not regulated by financial regulators.

The development comes a day after Kenya’s police service reportedly arrested Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Binance regional manager for Africa.

On March 22, Anjarwalla escaped from an Abuja guest house where he and Tigran Gambaryan, his colleague, had been kept by the federal government.

Anjarwalla was said to have escaped after guards led him to a nearby mosque for prayers during the Ramadan fast.

Anjarwalla and Gambaryan were charged with tax evasion and money laundering by the federal government. The duo were arrested and detained on February 28.

On February 27, 2024, Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria from unidentified sources in one year.

Cardoso said the apex bank was collaborating with different agencies, including the EFCC, the police, and the office of the national security adviser (NSA) to tackle illicit financial flows in the country.