The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria, under the leadership of Chairman Ola Olukoyede, has frozen approximately 300 accounts as part of its efforts to protect the foreign exchange market and strengthen the Naira against the dollar.
Olukoyede revealed the discovery of a financial scheme more detrimental than the crypto trading platform Binance.
The agency has taken action by freezing approximately 300 accounts to safeguard the foreign exchange market.
The scheme, known as the “P to P” peer-to-peer financial trading scheme, operates outside the official banking and financial systems, posing a potential threat that could further depreciate the Naira, which has been steadily appreciating.
Olukoyede stated, “There are individuals in this country conducting activities more harmful than Binance,” noting that over $15bn has flowed through one of these platforms in the past year, bypassing financial regulations.
In related news, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance executive who had fled Nigeria, has reportedly been arrested by police authorities in Kenya.
However, a representative for Anjarwalla’s wife hasrefuted these reports. Anjarwalla had evaded custody in Nigeria following the Federal Government’s intensified efforts to regulate the cryptocurrency platform to bolster the Naira.
Subsequent reports suggest that Anjarwalla, traced by Nigerian authorities to Kenya, is now under the custody of the Kenyan police. Since his escape from Nigeria, multiple law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC, the International Criminal Police, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Kenyan Police Service, have been negotiating his extradition.
In March, the EFCC announced its plans to extradite the Binance executive, emphasizing the agency’s commitment to curbing disruptions in the country’s forex market.
The EFCC has charged Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s chief executives, with tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering amounting to $35,400,000. While Gambaryan is currently in custody, efforts to extradite the absconded Anjarwalla are underway, involving collaboration with international law enforcement agencies and governments.
Anjarwalla, a British and Kenyan citizen serving as Binance’s Africa Regional Manager, was undergoing trial in Nigerian courts before his escape. He fled while under a 14-day court-ordered remand and was due to reappear in court on April 4, 2024.
The Nigerian government has recently intensified its crackdown on Binance, with Anjarwalla being one of the cryptocurrency executives arrested. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) alleged that over $26bn had been transferred through Binance without any trace. CBN governor Yemi Cardoso stated, “In the past year, more than $26 billion have been funneled through Binance without trace.”
