CBN Investigating AbokiFX Founder, Oniwinde Adedotun, Faces 2-years Imprisonment Amid Rising Forex Rate
- The Central Bank of Nigeria is conducting a probe against abokiFX founder, Oniwinde Adedotun, as the apex bank cracks down on his operation
- Adedotun faces two years imprisonment for abokiFX report on the foreign exchange rates, which breaches one of Nigeria's law
- The founder of the digital forex tracker is also under investigation for alleged manipulation of the exchange rates of the black market
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Oniwinde Adedotun, the founder of abokiFX, faces two years jail term and monetary fine following allegation that his digital media breached the National Intelligence Committee Act of 2004.
Adedotun's abokiFX tracks foreign exchange rates in Nigeria's black market, informing Nigerians and foreigners interested in the parallel market the movements of forex rates.
What the law says, how abokiFX breach it
But this is against the law covering the foreign exchange report, which states that any individual or organisation reporting exchange rates besides that of the bank has committed an offense.
Source: Getty Images
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It was gathered from section 11 of the National Intelligence Committee Act of 2004, that any person, association of individuals or public and private corporate body publishing or published exchange and interest rates other than that of bank's wil pay the following;
In the case of an individual, the fine of N100,000 will be metted out, as well as two years imprisonment, separately, or made to face both punishment.
While a company will be fined N500,000, and its certificate of registration or certificate of incorporation will be revoked.
Alleged manipulation of forex, illegal FX transactions
Aside from abokiFX breaching of the foreign exchange rate report law, Adedotun has also been accused of manipulating the black market forex rates which has been rising in recent times.
Since the Central Bank of Nigeria barred the Bureau De Change operators from receiving forex from commercial banks to support their operation, abokiFX has reported that naira value has increasingly weakened compared to foreign currencies.
Currently, abokiFX reported that $1 to a naira is N570, United Kingdom's one pound exchange for N770, while one euro trades for N655 in the parallel market.
Also, the CBN has requested details of seven accounts belonging to Adedotun and abokiFX, for investigation into transactions involving them.
CBN to produce digital naira in Nigeria
The financial regulator has been pushing for a digital currency, e-naira, for the country since it banned cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria earlier this year.
The CBN forbade cryptocurrency exchanges from operating in Nigeria, and barred the banks from conducting business with them.
Nigeria's e-naira is scheduled for October, the month of the country's Independence Day, but it won't be an interest-bearing asset.
Source: Legit.ng
