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Nigerian agency granted authority to freeze $330K in crypto accounts

Nigerian agency granted authority to freeze $330K in crypto accounts

GrafaGrafa2024/09/12 02:05
By:Mahathir Bayena

A Nigerian anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has received court approval to freeze bank accounts containing over $330,000 belonging to suspected cryptocurrency traders.

The EFCC claims these traders, operating on global platforms such as Kucoin and Bybit, were manipulating the Nigerian currency, the naira, through their trading activities.

The agency has also accused these exchanges of not complying with anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing regulations.

According to the EFCC, the frozen accounts were allegedly involved in illegal foreign exchange trading that negatively impacted the naira's value.

Okoro Philip, an EFCC investigator, pointed directly to cryptocurrency traders on Bybit and Kucoin as contributing factors to the naira's depreciation.

In a court filing dated September 3, he stated, "Bybit is a cryptocurrency platform where the exchange of USDT (a digital dollar) to other currencies, including the naira, takes place. The exchange rates determined by users of these cryptocurrencies adversely affect the value of the naira by artificially lowering its value."

The EFCC further alleges that the platforms were being used to trade proceeds from criminal activities and funds intended for terrorism.

This renewed focus on global cryptocurrency exchanges comes shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took steps to curb the naira's decline by selling U.S. dollars to bureaux de change at rates lower than the official foreign exchange market.

Observers have noted that the naira has seen a depreciation of nearly 70% since the beginning of the year.

Many attribute this continuous decline to the increasing demand for U.S. dollars in the country.

The EFCC’s actions suggest a crackdown on crypto-related activities that could be contributing to the forex instability.

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