•EFCC gets order to freeze 300 accounts, says one account transacted $15bn illegally
•Naira would have crashed massively if 300 accounts were not frozen – Chairman
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission may prosecute 300 forex racketeers trading on a peer-to-peer platform outside the financial regulations.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who gave this indication during an interactive programme with editors and bureau chiefs in Abuja on Tuesday, revealed that the accounts were frozen following a court order on Monday.
He disclosed that one of the accounts traded over $15bn in the past year.
Recently, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Communications Commission blocked the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considered continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds.
It also detained two senior executives of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange amidst efforts by the government to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The government also sent EFCC operatives to arrest Bureau De Change operators at the popular Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja.
While the websites of Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have been inaccessible in the country, reports said crypto traders now use alternatives like Bybit, Bitget, Kucoin, and Coincola and messaging platforms like Telegram which comes with an in-app wallet to make transactions.
But highlighting the measures being taken to protect the naira and stimulate the economy, Olukoyede explained that the forex accounts were frozen to ensure the safety of the foreign exchange market and protect the economy.
He stated that the efforts had helped the value of the naira and the forex market.
He pointed out that the commission needed the support of Nigerians to succeed as he emphasised that if the agency failed, Nigeria had failed.
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