The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order mandating Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with detailed information regarding Nigerians trading on its platform.
The court’s decision, made on Monday, followed an ex parte motion filed by the EFCC seeking information about Nigerian users of Binance.
According to the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/259/2024 and dated February 29, the EFCC cited sections of relevant laws, including 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, EFCC operative Hamma Bello stated that the commission received intelligence suggesting that money laundering and terrorism financing activities were being conducted on Binance.
Bello explained, “The team uncovered users who have been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation and market manipulation which has caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the naira losing its value against other currencies.”
He further revealed that data provided by Binance indicated that trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 alone stood at $21.6 billion.
The requested data, Bello noted, would aid the EFCC in completing its investigation.
In the certified true copy of the ruling delivered on February 29, Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order, directing Binance to furnish the EFCC with comprehensive information regarding all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.
Binance is an online exchange platform where users can trade cryptocurrencies.
The disclosure of the court order comes after the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, revealed in a press briefing that more than $26 billion was channeled through Binance without traces in the last year.
Earlier reports from Financial Times on February 28 had indicated that two executives of Binance were arrested and detained upon arrival in the country following a ban on their website.
