Nigeria Cracks Down on Crypto: CBN Bans Cash Withdrawals and Cheques for Virtual Asset Accounts.
Having lifted restrictions on banks operating accounts for virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said, there would be no cash withdrawals on accounts that are linked to virtual assets.
According to the guideline published by the apex bank, issuance of third party cheques by accounts linked to virtual assets would also not be allowed as only transfers into other or designated accounts would be allowed.
“Transactions on virtual assets bank accounts would also be through managers’ cheque. This is asides the settlement of virtual and digital assets transactions. The guideline also stipulated that banks are to open special accounts in accordance with the guideline which shall be sole for the purpose of transactions on virtual and digital assets “and not for any other purpose.
“Asides from providing designated settlement accounts and settlement services, the accounts are also to serve as channels for foreign exchange flows and trade. This is as a copy of certificate of capital importation is part of the documents required to open the accounts,” it pointed out.
The guideline also stipulates that banks and financial institutions “shall monitor on a continuous basis, all activities conducted in designated accounts opened in accordance with these guidelines. Financial institutions shall at the end of every month not later than the 10th of the following month submit to the relevant supervisory department the CBN data and other information on designated accounts.”
Thus, banks and financial institutions are expected to submit on a monthly basis, the number of accounts opened, the value and volume of transactions on each account, details of the counter parties to the transactions , incidence of fraud or theft as well and number of customer complaints and remedial measures taken.
The guideline also stipulated that financial institutions establish transaction limits for each designated account in line with the maximum transaction charges bank as provided it is guide to charges, even as it directed that they are not to enter into any concession agreement or arrangement with the holder of a designated account.
With the guideline, virtual assets service providers, digital assets custodian, digital asset offering platform, digital assets exchange and operators in the virtual and digital assets space licensed by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) are eligible to open and operate accounts with financial institutions in the country.
