A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform, News About Nigeria reports.
The court’s order follows an ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC demanding information about Nigerians trading on Binance.
According to the anti-graft agency, the suit marked; FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024 and dated February 29 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).
According to an EFCC operative, Hamma Bello, the Special Investigation Team of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser 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 stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform. That 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. 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 values against other currencies.”
