Nigerian court orders reopening of accused crypto company's accounts

News • 2021/10/29 • by
keziesuemo

Key Takeaways

  • The Nigerian Court Judge, Judge Taiwo Taiwo, ordered the bank to reopen the frozen accounts of Rise Vest Technologies accounts.
  • He also explained that the CBN bank accounts closure directive does not adhere to the country's laid down rules and regulations.
  • Judge Taiwo also explained that the CBN has failed to produce to the court, the law that states Cryptocurrency trading as an illegal activity in the Country.
    • He further explained that penalizing a particular action requires expressly stating the same in the Country's Constitution, which is not in the central bank’s case.
  • The Judge insists that since the Central Bank's directive is not stated in the Country's Constitution, banks cannot sanction companies against it.

According to the Nation, in a ruling that overruled the Nigerian Central Bank's order to freeze the Company's bank account on August 17, the Court's Judge, Judge Taiwo Taiwo, emphasized that the Central Bank cannot simply decide to cancel the account based on a circular.

Furthermore, the news media described the Judge as noting during the verdict that the Central Bank's directions to banks on February 6 are not in accordance with the country's constitution. Judge Taiwo also said that the CBN has failed to submit to the court the statute that declares cryptocurrency trading to be an unlawful activity in the country.

He added that after reviewing the respondent's Counter Affidavit, he discovered that the Startup bank account closure was caused by the Central Bank's mandate to banks. He went on to say that penalizing a certain activity necessitates explicitly expressing it in the country's constitution.

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Related post: A Nigerian Court Temporarily Lifts Bank Accounts of Fintech Firms Accused of Forex Violations

Judge Taiwo maintains that since the Central Bank's order is not written in the country's constitution, financial institutions cannot penalise corporations who violate it based on the Circular.

At the same time, the news media described the Judge as criticizing the Central Bank's move of inserting public policy considerations in papers presented in opposition to the Said Company's application.

Which Startups do you believe will benefit the most from this Court decision?

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