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Bank of Namibia Wins Legal Battle Against Crypto Scheme Firm

March 26, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

The Bank of Namibia had valid reasons to believe that CBI Exchange Namibia, a company involved in a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency investment scheme, was not in compliance with the Banking Institutions Act before the central bank ordered the freezing of the company’s bank account, a High Court judge has ruled.

Judge Esi Schimming-Chase made this ruling while dismissing an application by CBI Exchange Namibia to have the Bank of Namibia’s decision to freeze its account reviewed and overturned. In March 2022, the central bank instructed Bank Windhoek to freeze the company’s account after conducting an investigation into the company’s business activities and transactions on its bank account.

The Bank of Namibia’s investigation led it to believe that CBI Exchange Namibia, which claimed to offer cryptocurrency exchange services for investors, was violating the Banking Institutions Act of 1998 by conducting banking operations and accepting deposits without authorization.

CBI Exchange Namibia, represented by its sole director, Coenraad ‘Coenie’ Botha, sued the Bank of Namibia after the account was frozen. Botha, who is facing criminal charges in connection with the company’s operations, argued that there were no facts supporting a reasonable belief that his company was violating the Banking Institutions Act.

In her ruling delivered last Thursday, Judge Schimming-Chase pointed out that the Bank of Namibia’s investigation revealed that deposits totaling over N$162.8 million were made into the company’s account between August 2021 and February 2022. The investigation also showed that when Botha’s personal bank account had a low balance, money was transferred to it from accounts of CBI Exchange Namibia and its related company, CBI X SA, registered in South Africa.

The central bank’s analysis indicated that between August 2021 and February 2022, debits, payments, and withdrawals from CBI Exchange Namibia’s account amounted to about N$153.6 million, including a payment of approximately N$779,000 to a CBN Botha, believed to be Botha himself. Additionally, the investigation revealed several loans made to Botha, with no repayment occurring.

Despite CBI Exchange Namibia’s claim that it was only selling cryptocurrency and not accepting deposits from the public, the judge observed that the company’s transactions contradicted this statement. Schimming-Chase concluded that the Bank of Namibia had made a “considered assessment” of the company’s activities and that there was sufficient evidence to justify its belief that CBI Exchange Namibia was not complying with the Banking Institutions Act before the freezing of its account. The judge also ruled that the central bank acted within its legal authority in taking that action.