According to Vanguard, a Federal High Court in Abuja has approved a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to temporarily freeze over 1,146 bank accounts linked to individuals and companies.
The freeze is due to allegations including unauthorized foreign exchange transactions, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
The court, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, granted the EFCC's request to conduct its investigation within a 90-day period.
Justice Nwite said: “It is hereby ordered as follows:
“That the applicant’s application is hereby granted as prayed.
“That an order of this honourable court is hereby made freezing the bank accounts stated in the schedule below, which accounts are owned by various individuals who are currently being investigated in a case involving the offences of unauthorised dealing in foreign exchange, money laundering, and terrorism financing, to the extent that the investigation will be for a period of 90 (ninety) days.”
According to NAN, although the ruling was issued on April 24, the certified true copy was observed on Monday.
The EFCC presented the motion ex-parte, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/543/2024, dated and filed on April 24 by Iheanacho, which was heard by the judge the same day in the national interest.
The motion was made based on various legal provisions, including sections of the Constitution, the EFCC Establishment Act 2004, and the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022, as well as the court's inherent jurisdiction.
The EFCC sought the freezing of the bank accounts listed in the motion's schedule until the investigation is completed.
Giving three grounds upon which the reliefs were sought, it said: “The bank accounts in respect of which the reliefs are sought are subject matters of investigation by the EFCC in relation to money laundering and terrorism financing.
“That preliminary investigation conducted thus far reveals that the bank accounts are linked to persons who take advantage of the virtual cryptocurrency exchange platforms to illegally manipulate the value of Naira and launder proceeds of unlawful activities.
“That there is a need to preserve the funds in the identified bank accounts pending the conclusion of investigation and possible prosecution.”
Consequently, Justice Nwite adjourned the case until July 23 for further discussion. On March 18, NAN reported that Justice Nwite also instructed Binance Holdings Limited to furnish the EFCC with comprehensive data or information regarding all Nigerian traders on its platform.
The judge issued an interim order on Feb. 29 to aid the EFCC in investigating alleged money laundering and terrorism financing activities on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
The EFCC informed the judge that its investigation uncovered users engaging in activities such as price manipulation, causing significant disruptions in the market and devaluing the Naira against other currencies.
According to information provided by Binance, the total trading volume from Nigeria in 2023 was $21.6 billion.
Currently, the EFCC is prosecuting Binance and two executives for alleged money laundering, while the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is pursuing the company for alleged tax evasion.