The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited, a cryptocurrency company, to release comprehensive data of all persons trading on its platform to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.
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“The applicant’s application dated and filed 29th February, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed,” Nwite said.
“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered.
The order was granted to enable the EFCC unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance.
The ex-parte motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024, 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) and the inherent powers of the court.
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamma Bello, an operative of the EFCC, he said he was attached to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Bello stated that, following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the ONSA, the SIT “received an intelligence stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a crypto currency exchange platform.
“That on receipt of the Intelligence, the team began investigation by conducting surveillance of the activities of the platform,” he said.
“That 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.
“That 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 on the activities of the Nigerians on their platform.
“That from the information afforded to the team by Binance shows that the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 (twenty one billion, six hundred million dollars).”