- Bulk of the frozen money belongs to one wallet
- EFCC described the crypto assets as proceeds of terrorism financing and money laundering
- The identities of the owners of the assets were not revealed
Through its anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian government has reportedly frozen over $37 million worth of crypto assets traced to the organisers of the recently concluded #EndBadGovernance protest. This is per a Premium Times report.
On August 9, 2024, Justice Emeka Nwite of the federal high court sitting in Abuja ordered the accounts frozen based on the EFCC's application.
Source: Premium Times
The EFCC had brought the application on August 8, in which the anti-graft agency described the crypto assets as proceeds of terrorism financing and money laundering.
After listening to the counsel to the EFFC, O.S Ujam, Justice Nwite ruled: “That an order of this honourable court is hereby made freezing the wallet addresses/accounts stated in the schedule below, which wallets are owned by individuals currently being investigated for offences of money laundering and terrorism financing, pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
Source: Premium Times
The EFCC did not disclose the identities of the wallet owners in the application, but the report quoted inside sources who confirmed that the agency traced the wallets to alleged organisers of the #EndBadGovernance protest.
The frozen accounts are four, and all the assets are in stablecoin USDT.
One wallet (TB37WWozkkenGVYWD7Do2N5WT2CedqDktJ) has a chunk of the assets: USDT37,061,867,869.3 or $37 million.
The rest of the wallets are TUpHuDkiCCmwaTZBHZvQdwWzGNm5t8J2b9: USDT443,512.37; TGVCWYLdeCyjmSpojd4n7hqfJp2ucwuGAx: USDT967; and bc1qd6803rg24sgh4pjaprvh47apvgmleps9zagdt: USDT90.
Source: Premium Times
At the court hearing, Mr Ujam, the EFCC counsel, prayed the court to grant the application “pending the conclusion of the investigation and prosecution.”
There was no objection to the application, given that it was an ex-parte application, which is usually heard without the opposing side represented.
Granting the counsel’s prayer, Justice Nwite said: “That the applicant’s application dated and filed on 8th day of August 2024 is granted as prayed.”
How Kenyan protesters saved crypto exchanges from paying huge taxes
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that recently, a Kenyan appeals court nullified the country’s 2023 Finance Bill, describing it as unconstitutional. This decision crippled the plans of the William Ruto-led government.
Finance bills are the primary means the government outlines its plans to increase revenue, such as tax increases and the imposition of new levies.
In the 2023 bill, Ruto's government imposed a housing tax, doubled the value-added tax on gasoline, raised the top personal income tax rate, and took other measures. These measures triggered Kenyans to take to the streets in protest. As the streets boiled, the bill’s legitimacy was tested in court.
