The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has initiated a fresh crackdown on currency speculators and cryptocurrency platforms involved in manipulating the Nigerian naira.
According to sources within the EFCC, the commission is targeting not only Binance but also other cryptocurrency platforms and individuals contributing to the manipulation of the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
Confirming the commission’s efforts, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale stated, “The commission is doing everything within the ambit of the law to ensure that there’s sanity in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.”
Market analysts attribute the recent surge in the dollar against the naira to interbank activities by commercial banks.
Money market analyst Agba Akin explained, “Since Wednesday, the dollar has started increasing again at BDC (Bureaux De Change). This is why. The emergency lovers of Binance are back speculating on other P2P apps. They’ll keep adding N50 every day until they take it back to 2,500, which was their initial plan, and recoup their loss. CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria), act now.”
In response, BDC operator Yasir Arafat criticized speculative manipulation, emphasizing, “The problem with speculative manipulation is even if CBN keeps bidding dollars to BDC at a low rate, the prevailing speculated rate will lord over the market, and you’ll be forced to sell at that price to keep afloat. CBN must crack down on all speculative platforms.”
However, Almustapha Muhammed, Adhoc Committee Chairman of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, clarified that the recent rise in the dollar was due to interbank rates and not BDCs.
“Some people just want to put it at the BDCs. Actually, what happened was that the dollar rose from the interbank rates and not from the BDCs. BDCs are parallel markets, while the banks are connected with the Federal Government’s official rate,” Muhammed stated.
Economist Opeoluwa highlighted that the issue has been flagged as an “imminent danger” and is under investigation by relevant security agencies. “I am told that they (the security agency) may have to extend their hands to them, just like they did to Binance,” Opeoluwa added.
