A Nigerian court located in Abuja has mandated that Binance Holdings Limited furnish the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, an anti-graft agency, with all the detailed information pertaining to Nigerian traders on its platform.
Following his decision on the ex parte motion made by Ekele Iheanacho, the attorney for the EFCC, Justice Emeka Nwite issued the interim order.
In order to help the anti-graft agency investigate the purported money laundering and financing of terrorism on Binance, an online cryptocurrency exchange, an interim injunction was granted.
Sighting the ruling on Monday was a certified accurate copy that was handed on February 29.
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) as well as the inherent powers of the court were the grounds for the ex-parte motion, which is marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024.
Hamma Bello, an EFCC agent, stated in the affidavit supporting the motion that he was a member of the commission’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is based in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Bello claimed that the SIT “received an intelligence stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a crypto currency exchange platform” after the ONSA established the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation.
“That the team started the inquiry by monitoring the platform’s activity as soon as they received the intelligence.
The team discovered users who were manipulating the market, price discovery, and confirmation on the platform. This led to severe market distortions and a decline in the value of the Naira relative to other currencies.
“That the platform operators were made aware of the harm the platform has caused and asked to remove the Naira from the market and provide the ONSA regarding the activities of Nigerians on their platform.”According to the data provided to the team by Binance, Nigeria accounted for $21.6 billion (twenty-one billion, six hundred million dollars) of all trade volume in 2023.
“A copy of the document from Binance to the ONSA stating this fact among others is attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC 1.”
“That the commission will see to it that an investigation is carried out in a timely manner.”
Bello stated that the information would help the panel carry out its investigation tasks and that the subject was of the utmost urgent public interest.
According to him, approving the application would serve justice because rejecting it would seriously impede the commission’s inquiry.
“Hereby, the petitioner’s application, submitted on February 29, 2024, is approved as requested.
“This esteemed court hereby orders the operators of Binance to furnish the commission with exhaustive data/information pertaining to every individual from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the magistrate ruled.
Over 350 coins are listed on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which operates internationally.
It provides a number of services that improve the experience for consumers and blockchain developers in addition to cryptocurrency trading.(NAN)
