A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance Holdings Limited, to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information on all Nigerians trading on its platform.
The court issued the order in response to an ex-parte application from the EFCC seeking details regarding Nigerian traders on Binance.
The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024 and dated February 29, according to the anti-graft agency, was brought pursuant to Sections 6(b), (h), (I), 7(1), (a)(2), and 38 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 15 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended).
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by an operative of the EFCC, Mr. Hamma Bello, it was revealed that the Special Investigation Team of the commission, domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), received intelligence that money laundering and terrorism financing were carried out on Binance.
He said: “The Special Investigation Team of the commission, domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser, received an intelligence report stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
“On receipt of the intelligence, the team began an investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform.
“The team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its value against other currencies.”
Bello also said the team uncovered some users whose activities on Binance resulted in the country’s currency losing its value against other currencies.
“The team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its value against other currencies.
“The damage the platform has caused was clearly explained to the operators of the platform, and they were requested to delist the Naira and avail the ONSA of the activities of the Nigerians on their platform.
“The information afforded to the team by Binance shows trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6bn.
“Attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC 1 is a copy of the document from Binance to the ONSA stating this fact, amongst others.
“The commission will ensure that the investigation is conducted within a reasonable time,” Bello stated.
“The requested data would help the commission complete its investigation.”
According to a certified true copy of the ruling, which was delivered on February 29 but made available to newsmen on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order.
“The applicant’s application, dated and filed on February 29, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed.
“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data and information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” Justice Nwite ruled.
Persecondnews reports that the cryptocurrency trading platform, had on March 5, 2024, advised Nigerians trading on its platform to withdraw all their Naira assets as it exits the Nigerian market.
The announcement came amid President Bola Tinubu’s clampdown on cryptocurrency in Nigeria, aimed at halting the naira’s free fall against the dollar.
The company, in a statement, gave Nigerians until March 8, 2024, to withdraw their assets, saying it would no longer accept Naira deposits.
Justifying the clampdown on Binance and other cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, accused them of fixing rates and sabotaging the Nigerian economy.
In the same vein, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed at the recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja that over $26 billion was channelled through Binance without traces in the last year.
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