After Binance, FG Identifies Two Other Crypto Platforms Undermining The Naira, EFCC Takes Action
- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged two cryptocurrency platforms of manipulating the naira’s value
- The EFCC said the KuCoin and ByBit were involved in currency manipulation, leading to the naira’s loss of value
- The agency also disclosed that it had frozen 22 bank accounts containing $584.6 million believed to have been held by users of the platforms
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has obtained a court order to freeze N584.6 million, about $670,000 believed to be in accounts held by users of the crypto platforms ByBit and KuCoin.
The anti-corruption body alleges that the platforms played a role in the recent devaluation of naira.
Source: Facebook
FG accuses ByBit and KuCoin of currency manipulation
The case is part of a more significant push by the federal government to address suspected tax fraud and FX crimes by foreign crypto platforms operating in the country.
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The EFCC made the action public in a court on September 2, 2024.
Specifically, the anti-graft body accuses ByBit, KuCoin, and several other unnamed entities of enabling price discovery, confirmation, and market manipulation, resulting in the naira’s loss of value against other currencies.
According to the EFCC, the naira fluctuations in the naira’s value were driven by activities on the platforms.
The EFFC investigator, Okoro Philip, said in his affidavit that the naira witnessed a sharp drop in value around April 18, 2024, when it went from N1,250 to N1,980 per dollar in the parallel market, reversing months of government efforts at stabilising the local currency.
EFCC freezes two bank accounts
The EFFC said about 22 bank accounts were used by some persons to enable the naira exchange for USDT, a virtual currency pegged to the US dollar, at prices detrimental to Nigeria’s economy.
The EFCC said the persons whose accounts were frozen were barred from dealing in foreign exchange and instead used KuCoin and ByBit to circumvent the process.
The agency further disclosed that these platforms are being used to launder proceeds of crime and to finance terrorist activities due to the anonymity they provide to users.
SEC approves new crypto platforms
The development comes after the Nigerian government blocked Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange platform, for naira manipulation, leading to the firm turning off its naira feature.
Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved, in principle, new crypto platforms.
ByBit and KuCoin have yet to respond to the allegations publicly.
Nigerian man begins crypto ATM network
Legit.ng earlier reported that the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged 45-year-old Nigerian Olumide Osunkoya with operating an illegal cryptocurrency ATM network.
Cryptocurrency ATMs are like conventional ATMs that let users exchange fiat or standard currencies for cryptos.
They connect to a crypto exchange, converting deposited cash into cryptos. Transactions are processed on the blockchain, a digital ledger of financial transactions for cryptos.
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Source: Legit.ng
