Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured a court order to freeze 22 bank accounts belonging to USDT sellers on crypto exchanges such as Bybit and KuCoin. The total amount frozen is 548.6 million naira ($330,000), according to local media.
EFCC investigators have accused traders of manipulating the exchange rate of the Nigerian naira.
“Clients of foreign exchanges are not authorised to exchange cryptocurrency for naira and vice versa at rates that harm Nigeria’s financial system,” the case materials state.
The trading platforms themselves, according to the agency, contributed to the devaluation of the national currency and failed to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
Among the assets frozen are those of Kora Payment Network, AD Ishola Farms Ltd, and Microcore Tech Investment Services.
Currently, the owners of the frozen accounts are either facing legal action or are under investigation for unauthorised currency operations, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
Nigerian authorities are concerned about the impact of cryptocurrency exchanges on the country’s economy. In February 2024, telecommunications companies were instructed by the government to block access to several platforms, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken.
Charges were brought against Binance Holdings Limited and two of its top executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadim Anjarwalla, for tax evasion (later dropped) and laundering $35.4 million. The company and the executives deny the allegations.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has made conflicting statements regarding the crypto market. In 2017, the regulator stated it could not control or regulate bitcoin. In 2021, it banned banks from servicing crypto exchanges, a restriction lifted in 2023.
At the end of April, the central bank denied issuing an order to freeze bank accounts of crypto exchange clients.
Several Nigerian fintech companies have warned clients against conducting cryptocurrency transactions through their services, threatening to block accounts.
In June, Nigeria’s SEC informed cryptocurrency firms operating in the country of the need to re-register their activities. Failure to do so could result in enforcement actions.