The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen 300 illegal forex accounts trading on a peer-to-peer platform.
The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, revealed that the accounts were suspended on Monday following a court order, adding that the peer-to-peer financial trading scheme operates outside the official banking and financial channels.
He stated that this illicit activity could have disastrous consequences for the Naira’s value, which has been steadily rising.
In response to this new threat, the EFCC has taken decisive action by freezing approximately 300 accounts associated with the scheme.
Olukoyede stressed the urgency of addressing this issue, stating that over $15 billion has passed through one of these platforms in the past year alone, circumventing financial regulations.
Olukoyede also compared the severity of this new scheme to that of the crypto trading platform Binance, indicating that some individuals in Nigeria engaged in activities that were even more detrimental to the country’s financial stability.
He added that the EFCC is committed to safeguarding Nigeria’s financial system’s integrity and protecting Naira’s value.
