Nigeria’s Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has debunked report that it instructed commercial banks in the country to put a lid on cryptocurrency transactions.
An earlier report had claimed that the Yemi Cardoso-led CBN ordered the money banks to stop operating crypto accounts.
The banks, the report claimed, citing a directive from the CBN are to place post-no-debit, PND, on the crypto accounts for six months.
The apex bank however stated on Wednesday that such directive did not emanate from it, urging Nigerians to discountenance the report for what it is, false.
The report comes on the heels of a recent clampdown on crypto current sites including Binance by the CBN which accused the Virtual Currency trading sites of Naira speculation and tax evasion.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance executive was detained in Nigeria for alleged tax evasion and other offences, but later escaped.
The fleeing Binance chief has now been arrested in Kenya through the cooperation of INTERPOL, and is deemed to be deported to Nigeria for trial, according to those familiar with the issue.
The CBN had in December 22, 2023, lifted the ban it earlier placed on crypto sites in 2021.
