By Ngozi Onyeakusi …

 

 

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Cooperation (NDIC) warned that digital currencies especially Bitcoins will not be authorised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and won’t be insured by the NDIC.
The commission equally advised the public to desist from it adding that any person or groups who invest or trade in them do so at their own risk.
The Managing Director / Chief Executive NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, gave the warning while speaking at the CBN special day at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair.

Ibrahim, who was represented by the Director, Claims Resolution, Mr. A.S Bello, explained that there are safety concerns associated with digital currencies, which are mainly the basic reasons why regulatory / supervisory authorities in many countries are seriously concerned about.

He however noted that the NDIC and CBN were also studying their implications for financial system from any negative effects associated with such inventions.
He further assured that protection of depositors remains the commissions priority.

“The protection of the depositor remains our top priority. That is why we continue to stress the need for depositors to patronise only financial institutions that are licensed by the CBN and which display the NDIC Sticker with the words ‘insured by NDIC’ in their banking halls or entrances.

“It is for this reason that I must sound a word of warning against patronising dubious fund managers, otherwise known as “Wonder Banks”. They persuade their unsuspecting victims to part with their hard earned money with promises of interest rates that are unrealistically high as the returns on their investments.
“The result is the loss of vital savings and sometimes disastrous consequences to the lives of the victims. Also, the emerging trend of investing in digital currencies popularly known as Bitcoins is equally dangerous because just like the “Wonder Banks’, the digital currencies are not licensed by the CBN and are therefore not insured by the NDIC.”