Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Agency Seizes Funds from Crypto Users
The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been given court approval to freeze bank accounts holding over $330,000 owned by suspected cryptocurrency users. The EFCC claims that these users manipulated the value of the Nigerian currency, the naira, through their trading activities. Additionally, the agency accuses global platforms such as Kucoin and Bybit, as well as Binance, of failing to comply with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.
The EFCC investigator, Okoro Philip, directly attributes the depreciation of the naira to cryptocurrency traders on Bybit and Kucoin. He alleges that these traders artificially lowered the value of the naira by exchanging USDT, a digital dollar, to other currencies. The EFCC also asserts that the accused cryptocurrency exchanges are facilitating the trading of criminal proceeds and funds intended for terrorists.
The EFCC’s actions come shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened to stabilize the naira. The CBN sold US dollars at a lower rate to bureaux de change in an effort to counter the depreciation. The naira has depreciated by approximately 70% this year due to increased demand for US dollars.
It remains to be seen how this move by the EFCC will impact the Nigerian cryptocurrency landscape and its users.