September 07, (THEWILL) — The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has observed that as an innovation and transactional technology in the global economy, cryptocurrency requires governing rules to regulate its ecosystem in the country in order to prevent its fraudulent abuse.
He made the observation in Abuja when the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria, SIBAN, led by their president, Obinna Iwuno, paid him a courtesy visit at the Commission’s corporate headquarters.
Speaking through his Chief of Staff, Commander of the EFCC, CE Michael Nzekwe, Olukoyede stated that “Crypto is the new oil. There’s so much money in crypto. The ecosystem is something that needs to be properly regulated. If that regulation is not done, even the genuine actors will run into big problems. The truth is that there’s a thin line between the genuine crypto operators and the fraudsters. What has been happening is that even politically-exposed persons are now using it as a means for laundering money and some of the actors in the ecosystem are falling for them. Even some of the ones you say are genuine, launder money. So , it’s important that we’re having this particular meeting,” he said.
While encouraging players in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to prioritise enlightenment and training of investors, Olukoyede noted that SIBAN could contribute to the fight against money laundering by being whistleblowers.
Earlier in his remarks, Iwuno noted that the critical place of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in the national economy has motivated SIBAN to draw up a set of regulatory codes.
He called for collaboration with the EFCC, stating that it would enable SIBAN to make meaningful input in the fight against investment fraud and money laundering.
Speaking further, Iwuno stated, “We have the largest population in Africa, we have the largest population of youths. Nigerians are the most active people on this continent, but we also stand at risk that our ecosystem, growing at this fast pace without proper regulations to guide activities on digital assets and blockchain technology, may open up to risks. Risks in the areas of money laundering, terrorism financing, threats to our national security and even proliferation financing. All of these we take into consideration.”
