Onanuga charges EFCC, CBN to clampdown on Binance, Aboki Fx, crypto platforms over naira’s falling value

The Special Adviser on Information & Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Bayo Onanuga has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to move against platforms trying to manipulate the naira through crypto exchange platforms which are in turn contributing to the falling value of the naira.

He opined that platforms such as Binance, Aboki FX, Kucoin, Bybit and others should not be allowed to operate in the country’s cyberspace.

Onanuga gave the advice in a post he shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday. He also suggested that Crypto channels should be banned in the country, otherwise, “this bleeding of our currency will continue unabated”.

In the post titled: “The Naira-Dollar Manipulators,” the presidential aide explained how he chanced upon an X post on Tuesday night made by one Brother Bernard, who according to him, rallied against what he called the order of the EFCC, NSA (National Security Adviser) on Finance to set a cap on traders selling USD tokens for naira equivalent.

According to the presidential aide, Bernard disclosed that token sellers had migrated to Telegram and were selling naira at N1850 and above.

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Calling on the authorities to go after currency manipulators, the presidential aide explained that Binance, “which is blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria, hijacking CBN role, is a cryptocurrency trading platform, which has suffered access limitations from multiple jurisdictions, in the US, Singapore, Canada and the UK”.

Citing Data Wallet, Onanuga said that Binance is prohibited in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority from conducting any regulated activities.

He continued, “In Japan, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) banned Binance for operating without the necessary regulatory approval.

“Ontario, Canada, has also suspended Binance services following its inability to meet the province’s securities regulation criteria. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also banned Singaporean investors from accessing Binance’s services.”

He added Binance, “which is currently facing regulatory showdown in many countries, and causing disruptions in the currency market, should not be allowed to dictate the value of the Naira, not on its crypto exchange platform.

“Other crypto platforms such as Kucoin, Bybit should be banned from operating in our cyberspace.”

“FX platform Aboki should be re-banned,” he suggested. He advised that the “EFCC and the CBN should move against these platforms trying to manipulate our national currency to Ground Zero”.

“Crypto should be banned in our country or else this bleeding of our currency will continue unabated,” he added.

By Babajide Okeowo

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