- EFCC linked over N2.2bn to Nigerian firm used by foreign cybercrime ring.
- Genting International’s Union Bank account received suspicious crypto inflows for eight months.
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of $222,729 worth of digital assets recovered from Chinese nationals.
Justice Alexander Owoeye gave the order on Monday following a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The anti-graft agency said the assets were retrieved from a syndicate of 792 suspects linked to cryptocurrency and romance scams.
In February, the court had issued an interim forfeiture order on the assets, directing the EFCC to publish a notice in a national newspaper.
The publication was to give any interested party 14 days to appear and show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
During Monday’s proceedings, Zeenat Atiku, EFCC counsel, said the application was backed by an affidavit sworn by Muazu Abdulrahman, an EFCC investigator.
Abdulrahman disclosed that the syndicate operated through Genting International Co. Limited, a firm registered in Nigeria.
According to the affidavit, the company’s Union Bank account received over N2.26 billion between April and December 2024.
The EFCC stated that two cryptocurrency vendors — Chukwuemeka Okeke and Alhassan Aminu Garba — were the major fund sources into the account.
The anti-graft agency added that both men were invited, interrogated, and they volunteered statements under caution.
The vendors reportedly admitted receiving a combined total of $2.38 million in USDT from the syndicates.
They also disclosed the wallet addresses used by the group for the transfer of the digital currencies.
Following the EFCC’s application, the court granted the order, declaring the digital assets as permanently forfeited to the federal government.