The Nigerian government has received nearly $100,000 from two cryptocurrency companies accused of conducting unlicensed conversions of tether (USDT) to naira and vice versa. Two Nigerian cryptocurrency companies, Paparaxy Global Ventures Limited and Lemskin Technologies Limited, are accused of operating without a banking license.
The Federal Government of Nigeria recently received nearly $100,000 (NGN 160 million) from two cryptocurrency companies accused of illegally exchanging tether (USDT) for naira and vice versa. According to Nigerian authorities, the two companies, Paparaxy Global Ventures Limited and Lemskin Technologies Limited, broke the law by offering their services without a valid banking license. According to a report by Nairametrics, the two companies entered into a plea agreement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The existence of this plea agreement was announced by EFCC counsel, Ogechi Ujam, who asked the court to accept the agreement. After hearing Ujam’s plea, Nigerian High Court Judge James Omotosho adjourned the case until October 22. The revelation of Nigeria’s anti-corruption body’s case against two cryptocurrency companies and their directors comes just weeks after the country’s securities regulator granted the first digital asset exchange licenses to two local companies, Busha and Quidax. Despite the widely hailed decision, the regulator warned that it would not tolerate illegal cryptocurrency exchanges and vowed to crack down on such entities. Meanwhile, in addition to blocking unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges, Nigerian authorities have resorted to freezing bank accounts suspected of being linked to local crypto traders. To do so, authorities have used general anti-money laundering and exchange control laws. For example, in the EFCC case against Paparaxy and Lemskin, Nigeria’s anti-corruption body argued that the two companies were not eligible to participate in the Autonomous Monetary Market of Nigeria. The EFCC also charged the companies with violating Section 10(3) of the Anti-Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, which requires market participants to report such transactions to the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML).
