By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has vowed to go after the founder of AbokiFX, Mr Oniwinde Adedotun, over claims that the platform is publishing rates that are not approved by the bank.
This was made known by the Governor of the bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, on Friday while answering questions from journalists in Abuja after reading the outcome of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Mr Emefiele claimed that Mr Adedotun, who is based in the United Kingdom, was engaging in speculative activities, making profits from the disparity in quoted rates and official exchange rates.
AbokiFX is a web platform that reports the value of the Naira against the major foreign currencies. The platform started operations in early 2014. The website is registered in Arizona, United States and is the 63rd most visited website in Nigeria.
Mr Emefiele noted that the apex bank was in collaboration with several international agencies to ensure that the principal of AbokiFX is brought to book.
He further alleged that Mr Oniwinde has 25 bank accounts in eight banks that are filled with money from his alleged speculative activities.
The apex bank chief said the AbokiFX founder is an illegal dealer with tens of millions invested across several Nigerian companies, but he vowed to track him in the UK and ensure he is prosecuted for his alleged crimes, one of which he claimed is currency manipulation.
He said Mr Adedotun must explain how he gets the rates he publishes on his website, noting that the central bank has mandated its experts to work on the platform, apparently to bring it down and make it inaccessible to users.
Modupe Gbadeyanka