A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC with the comprehensive data or information of all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.
The interim order was granted to enable the anti-graft agency to unravel allegations of money laundering and terrorism financing against Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform.
In the affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Hamma Bello, an operative of the EFCC, he said he was attached to the Special Investigation Team of the commission domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Bello averred that, following the inauguration of the Technical Committee on Currency Stability and Forex Manipulation by the ONSA, the SIT “received an intelligence stating the nefarious activities (money laundering and terrorism financing) on Binance, a crypto currency exchange platform.
Bello, who said the matter was of utmost urgent public interest, said the data provided would enable the commission to accomplish its investigation activities.
He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application as refusal of the request would largely hamper the commission’s investigation