A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order directing Binance Holdings Limited to furnish the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information regarding Nigerian users trading on its platform.
The court's decision stemmed from an ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC, seeking data on Nigerians engaged in trading activities on Binance. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024 and dated February 29, was filed in accordance with relevant sections of the Economic and Financial Crimes Establishment Act, 2004, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended).
In an affidavit supporting the motion, deposed by EFCC operative Hamma Bello, it was revealed that the commission's Special Investigation Team received intelligence suggesting illicit activities, including money laundering and terrorism financing, being conducted on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange platform. The investigation uncovered users manipulating prices and causing market distortions, leading to the devaluation of the Naira against other currencies.
Despite requests to address these concerns, Binance allegedly failed to take adequate action. The affidavit further disclosed that trading volume from Nigeria on the platform in 2023 alone amounted to $21.6 billion.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling delivered on February 29, granted the interim order, compelling Binance to provide the EFCC with comprehensive data on Nigerian traders using its platform.
Binance is an online exchange facilitating cryptocurrency trading. Concerns about its operations arose following disclosures made by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, who revealed that over $26 billion had been transacted through Binance without proper oversight in the past year.
Furthermore, the Financial Times reported on February 28 that two executives of Binance were arrested upon their arrival in Nigeria due to a ban on their website. Subsequently, on March 12, 2024, the EFCC requested data on the top 100 users in Nigeria and transaction histories for the past six months from Binance, sparking negotiations between the company and Nigerian authorities.
