According to Peoples Gazette on Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria has prohibited certain microfinance banks, such as Moniepoint, Opay, and Kuda, from taking on new clients and opening new accounts due to claims that they were being used to channel cryptocurrency and manipulate the value of the naira.
Following the EFCC’s successful court order to freeze at least 1,146 bank accounts belonging to different people and businesses accused of engaging in illicit foreign currency transactions, the CBN issued its ruling.
In ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by Ekele Iheanacho, the attorney for the anti-graft agency, Justice Emeka Nwite also granted the commission’s plea to wrap up the inquiry in ninety days.
The certified true copy of the verdict, which was rendered on April 24, was approved on Monday. The EFCC is looking into further charges, including financing of terrorism and money laundering.
The EFCC stated in its request for the order to block the accounts that the bank accounts are connected to individuals who use virtual cryptocurrency exchange platforms to manipulate the value of Naira illegally and launder the proceeds of illicit activities, according to the results of its preliminary investigation.
It further mentioned the necessity of holding onto the money in the designated bank accounts until the investigation’s end and any potential prosecution.
