“It Is Not Yet Time For Us As A Country To Embrace Crypto Currency”

Barrister, how do you appreciate the rapid evolution of cryptocurrency in Cameroon in recent years?
Till proof of the contrary, crypto currency is not legal and formally accepted in Cameroon as a means of effecting payments and carrying out financial transactions. All banking and financial transactions in Cameroon are regulated by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) which acts through UMAC, COBAC and BEAC. As a matter of fact, COBAC and BEAC have taken a formal stance since May 2022 on this matter by sounding a warning to all residents and financial institutions under its authority that it will not accept and will not caution any transactions directly or indirectly related to virtual currency of any kind.
Now when you talk of “rapid evolution” you certainly mean the use of, and transactions in crypto currencies by Cameroonians within the current CEMAC “prohibition” context. Transactions in crypto-currencies are internet-based and therefore knows no national frontiers and we must understand that the outing of the Regulator of the Financial Industry in Cameroon/CEMAC came at a time when it was discovered that Cameroonians were increasingly dealing with digital currencies and loosing hard-earned income through these transactions. The phrase “Rapid Evolution” therefore, should not be used to describe the official situation in Cameroon as relates to crypto currency as the stance of the authorities have not evolved. What has evolved, in my humble opinion is rather the increase in the number of Cameroonians who now carry-on transactions in crypto currencies on various platforms, none of which can boast of any legal existence in Cameroon or the approval of the CEMAC banking regulator. 

 Is there some legal laxity towards these vague initiatives which can be said to arise and disappear according to the Ponzi system, leaving thousands of people in mishaps?
Even before this phenomenon of virtual currencies came into being, Cameroonians had already been known for Ponzi schemes related transactions in various domains. People have been known to buy or sell houses or landed property that never existed, clear containers at the Douala ports that existed on paper only, apply for and bribe to have jobs in companies that existed only on paper, move with fake Schengen or U.S entry visas in their passports believing on their authenticities until they are arrested at the airport, etc etc. I am yet to understand the reasons why a Cameroonian will take his hard-earned funds from his bank account and convert into crypto currency within a context where there are no legal dispositions regulating the activity! Why would you invest in a business without proper due diligence, let alone the fact that you understand absolutely nothing about it? Engaging in crypto currency transaction in Cameroon, whether as an investor or the representative or operator of a platform is simply gambling and outright risky! Let us note that even the most developed countries in the world today are still just moving to grabble with this phenomenon and every day, we hear of stories where unsuspecting investors are scammed or lose money by venturing into crypto-currency transactions. 

According to the results of a study by the Ministry of Finance, the anchoring of these phenomena is a threat to the financial system of Cameroon. For you who is in the business world, what are some of these threats?
Without any hesitation, I am also one of those who think that it is not yet time for us as a country, to embrace crypto currency.  Without having a look at the results of the study you mentioned in your question, my position, is also that this crypto currency phenomenon is a threat to the financial system of Cameroon. Let’s be clear about one thing here: Cameroon and CEMAC do not yet have the means of monitoring transactions in digital currencies and digital assets. Those currently engaging in crypto currency transactions in the country are (for the most part), motivated by criminally. Crypto Transactions is therefore the ideal place to go if you want to illegal transfer funds, hide assets, launder money, etc. The first problem in my opinion is that of regulation. Without clear regulation and regulatory authorities, implosion is just a matter of time. The risk of losing investments is just very high. Personally, the relative success I have had so far in tracking down Cameroon scammers and other cyber criminals and even retrieving extorted funds is because these scammers till now have...