A popular saying goes thus, “where there is no law, there is no crime”. But if a law is put in place, it must be obeyed and enforced.
The hand of the law has come upon the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is extend that hand.
The apex bank says it is an effort to ensure that all players adhere strictly to the rules of the game.
According to information gathered, the CBN fined Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, ₦200 million for breaching its regulation on cryptocurrency trading in the country.
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The CBN had earlier warned commercial banks against enabling cryptocurrency trading by allowing accounts to receive and send money related to digital currency.
In fact, Governor Godwin Emefiele of CBN, had often spoken against cryptocurrency trading, leading to the ban of cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria on February 5, 2021.
Union Bank revealed the penalty in the firm’s consolidated and separate financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, which was released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Union Bank was fined ₦4 million for violating the CBN’s circular, prohibiting financial institutions from giving foreign currency facility to customers that do not earn in foreign currency.
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Also, the CBN penalised Union Bank for the late substitution of maturing securities pledged, imposing a ₦1 million fine on the lender.
The statement further stated that Union Bank was fined ₦2 million for the non-provision of short codes to customers to enable them to block their accounts upon notice of fraud threats.
