Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf
April 21, 2024
Indications are that the concerted efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which saw the naira rebound against the dollar in recent times, especially in the foreign exchange market may soon be eroded as the syndicates involved in the forex racketeering are regrouping this time around to cause severely catastrophic damage to the fabric of the economy, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf
Nobody gave it a fighting chance that it would ever survive the onslaughts and evil machinations of the enemy.
But like the proverbial Phoenix, it has risen from its own ashes with such resounding gusto and proven all bookmakers wrong that indeed it can get its life back on an even keel sooner than later!
The foregoing anecdote becomes apposite in describing the shocking comeback of the naira to the sheer amazement of everyone.
The genesis
The naira, which February fell to a low of N1,900 to the dollar, weighed down by high demand for the U.S.currency and outstanding forwards on the currency that needed to be settled by the Central Bank bounced back last month, firming to N1050 per dollar.
This followed after pressure on individuals, banks and Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to offload their excess dollars and other foreign currencies all thanks to the raft of policy measures introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
As reported by The Nation a few weeks back, a BDC operator, Mallam Yakubu Salisu, said ‘people “are willing to exchange their dollars now more than ever before because of fears that it might crash further in the coming days.”
The apex bank had last month announced its decision to sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible BDC operator across the country.
The development came three years after the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced the suspension of foreign exchange sales to BDC operators.
However, about 1,373 BDC operators have been screened to get the allocation.The breakdown includes Abuja, 186; Awka, 26; Kano, 376; Lagos, 785.
On July 27, 2021, the CBN discontinued the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs accusing them of trading FX wholesale that amounts greater than USD 5000, in contravention of their licences, and Nigeria’s FX regulations.
The latest circular, “Sale of Foreign Exchange to Bureau de Change Operators to meet retail demand for eligible invisible transactions” approved resumption of sale of dollars to BDC operators.
It noted that the move aimed at rectifying the persisting distortions in the retail segment of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market and bridge the widening gap in the exchange rate.
It said the allocation would be sold at a rate of N1,301/$, reflecting the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market as of the previous trading day, dated February 27, 2024.
Clear and present dangers over surge in fraudulent crypto currency exchange platforms
But in a twist of fate, whatever gains the local tender may have recorded lately may be upturned in a matter of days if the sheer audacity of some unscrupulous individuals is anything to go by.
Informed sources across the board have fingered two of the most patronised crypto currency exchange platforms as the brains behind this resurgence in the activities of these persons of questionable character.
Shedding light on this development, Chukwudi Iwuchukwu, an investment lawyer in a terse statement to Yemi Cardoso, the CBN governor, he warned that the apex bank should gird up its loins and act fast before the forex racketeers actualise their evil plot aimed at further diminishing the value of the naira.
Sounding the alarm to what he described as a sinister plot to erode the gains of the past few weeks, Iwuchukwu warned in stern terms.“The criminals you stopped from manipulating our currency on Binance have switched to Bybit sir! These terrorists won’t stop until we arrest and charge them with economic terrorism.”
Explaining the modus operandi of their operations, Iwuchukwu said, “What these people do is simple: they set the price from the comfort of their Lekki home without any demand or fundamentals behind the price jump and depreciation, and then the aboki in the street will pick the price from them and set their price.”
Pressed further, the Madonna University trained lawyer said, “These were the reasons why the dollar jumped from N950 to $1 on Monday to 1,230 to $1 today (Friday) for no reason and no fundamentals behind the depreciation because we have enough dollar liquidity in the markets as of today.
“Prior to their halt, they carried out the exact same actions with Binance, which took our currency from 720 to 1,980 to $1.As a country, we are yet to recover from that setback and the pain inflicted on us by these unscrupulous individuals.There are two reasons why now is the ideal moment to liaise with Nuhu Ribadu NSA.
“We need to immediately shut down Bybit and, more importantly, demand the data of these economic terrorists so as to charge them in court.
Manipulating our currency on a trading app is easy for them because there are no consequences.“We can’t allow them to succeed because we can’t let the minority push the rest of us into poverty because of their greed and ambition to set the country on fire.”
Peres Sawacha – Diyerin is also on the same page with Iwuchukwu.
Writing on his Facebook page on Friday, Diyerin said, “Since Wednesday, the dollar has begun to rise again at BDCs.
The surge is attributed to the return of Binance’s emergency lovers who are speculating on other P2P apps.“They intend to incrementally add 50 naira each day until they bring it back to 2500, their initial target, and recover their losses.
It’s imperative for the CBN to take action now.”
The Binance connection
Interestingly, the syndicates involved in the naira debacle have not had it smoothly as the law enforcement had been on their case.
One of the arrowheads, a Binance Holdings Ltd.executive detained for more than 40 days in Nigeria after being invited by the government and then charged with tax evasion and fraud has been sent to prison ahead of trial in May.
A Nigerian court on Friday adjourned a tax evasion trial against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two of its executives to May 17 after the matter was stalled because the exchange has not been formally served with the charges.
Binance and its executives Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S.citizen and head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is a regional manager for Africa, face four counts of tax evasion.
The charges include failure to register with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax remittance purposes.
Gambaryan appeared in court in Abuja on Friday but did not take a plea.Anjarwalla fled the country last month.
Binance has not been served the tax evasion charges by FIRS, whose lawyer argued that Gambaryan should face the charges on the exchange’s behalf.
Gambaryan’s lawyer Chukwuka Ikuazom objected, arguing that since Binance and its executives were jointly charged, he could not take a plea until the exchange, the first defendant in the case, had been served, according to Nigerian law.
Judge Emeka Nwite adjourned to May 17 when he will give a ruling.
In addition to the tax evasion trial, Binance and the executives have also been charged with laundering more than $35 million by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a trial that will resume on May 2.
The Binance executive, who was not represented in court and had no immediate comment, said on Thursday that it is working closely with Nigeria authorities following the detention of Gambaryan.
Cryptocurrency market in Nigeria
Nigeria’s crypto adoption continues to surge, with transaction volumes reaching $56.7 billion last year, marking a 9% growth.
This dynamic reflects a broader trend in the African nation, where about 35% of its population, between 18 and 60, trades or invests in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that in Nigeria the two most sought after crypto exchanges are Bitget and Bybit.
Bitget stands out as the premier choice for cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria.It is one of the largest derivatives exchanges by trading volume.
This platform caters to a wide array of trading needs, from purchasing cryptocurrencies with fiat to engaging in spot market trades.It offers a rich trading environment where derivatives traders can leverage high margins or utilise trading bots for futures trading.
For those new to the cryptocurrency scene, Bitget introduces a unique copy trading feature, allowing beginners to mimic the strategies of more experienced traders as they hone their skills.Additionally, Bitget Earn presents an attractive option for users looking to accrue more tokens through staking select cryptocurrencies, offering competitive annual percentage yields.
The exchange supports over 600 cryptocurrencies and nearly 700 trading pairs, including leading tokens like USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, and Bitget’s own token, BGB.Users can also buy crypto with Nigeria’s local currency, Naira.Also, for Africa as a market they have regular offers and easy ways to win giveaways.
Bitget doesn’t charge any deposit fees and only has a 0.1% fee on spot trading which now has been removed under the current 0 trading fees campaign for Bitcoin and Ethereum.Notably, users can secure a 20% discount in spot trading when fees are paid using BGB.The withdrawal fees vary based on market conditions and blockchain networks.For example, the current withdrawal fee for USDT on the Tron (TRC20) network is 1 USD.
Bitget’s commitment to transparency and security is evident in its pledge to hold 100% of users’ assets in reserves, a promise backed by regular publications of its Merkle Tree proof, platform reserves, and reserve ratios.
The platform also has a $539 million protection fund, providing a robust shield against cybersecurity threats.
From available information, Bybit exchange is headquartered in Dubai, having moved from Singapore in 2022, and operates under Bybit Fintech Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Bybit is the second largest crypto exchange globally in terms of daily trading volume.This platform offers access to both spot trading and a wide array of crypto derivatives products.With the option of high leverage, Bybit opens up various trading possibilities for advanced users looking for more sophisticated strategies.Apart from its robust trading capabilities, Bybit also introduces ways for users to increase their crypto holdings through staking and lending passively.
One notable aspect of Bybit is its adaptability to the needs of Nigerian users.Although it does not provide trading pairs in NGN, the platform facilitates the purchase of cryptocurrencies with NGN.This is possible through Bybit’s P2P marketplace and its integration with third-party crypto onramps like Moonpay, making it highly accessible for users in Nigeria.
Bybit maintains a transparent fee structure, with spot trading fees set at 0.1%.The platform does not impose fees for internal transfers or on-chain crypto deposits into Bybit accounts.However, transaction fees may apply for certain currencies and payment methods as determined by the service provider.
A user who simply identified himself as Jaja said he had a very bad experience using Bybit P2P and blamed his woes on the government who according to him, brought him out of his comfort zone (Binance)
“…I started using bitget p2p a few weeks back after the bybit and oh boy!! It wasn’t very easy.”.
