Untraceable People Traded $26bn Via Binance Nigeria in One Year—Cardoso

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CB), Mr Olayemi Cardoso, has stated that about $26 billion has passed through the popular crypto exchange, Binance, from sources that cannot be adequately identified, echoing sentiments shared by his predecessor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

He said this as he responded to the activities of cryptocurrency platforms like Binance while addressing the press after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday.

The MPC raised its benchmark interest rate, known as the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 22.75 per cent, for the first time in eight months. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was increased to 45 per cent.

According to Mr Cardoso, the consequences of such illicit transactions to Nigeria’s financial system informed the recent regulatory actions against some of the crypto exchanges.

“We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows, going through a number of these entities and suspicious flows.

“In the case of Binance, in the last year, $26 billion has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” he said.

This was an exact sentiment shared by his predecessor, Mr Emefiele, who described the operations of cryptocurrencies as dangerous and opaque.

He stressed that the anonymity, obscurity and concealment of cryptocurrencies made it suitable for those who indulge in illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorism financing, purchase of small arms and light weapons and tax evasion.

He also said the use of cryptocurrency contravened an existing law given the fact that cryptocurrencies were issued by unregulated and unlicensed entities made it contrary to the mandate of the Bank, as enshrined in the CBN Act (2007) declaring the Bank as the issuer of legal tender in Nigeria.

“Cryptocurrency has no place in our monetary system at this time and cryptocurrency transactions should not be carried out through the Nigerian banking system,” he said when appeared for the Nigerian Senate in February 2021.