Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has warned Nigerians against investing in digital currencies, especially Bitcoins.
It stated that such currencies were yet to be approved by Nigerian regulators.
Chief Executive Officer, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim spoke on Thursday at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair.
Represented by the Director, Claims Resolution, Mr. A.S Bello, the CEO said: “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.”
Ibrahim disclosed that the corporation had paid over N100 billion to depositors of liquidated banks, adding that the payments were announced via newspapers, radio and television.
“We implore those depositors who have not responded to our calls to come forward to collect their insured deposits and liquidation dividends already declared for uninsured deposits,”
he added.
Source: Daily Post
