The Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted a Nigerian crypto dealing company, Official Gredo Limited, for illegally conducting USDT to Naira transactions without a banking license.
Justice Inyang Ekwo convicted Official Gredo on Wednesday in accordance with the company’s plea bargain arrangement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), while ordering the forfeiture of N140 million held in the company’s account to the EFCC recovery account.
The sentencing in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CR/308/2024 followed a guilty plea by Nnamdi Okereke, the company’s director when the amended money laundering charge was read to him.
What Transpired in Court
At the arraignment on Wednesday, the company was accused of failing to report in writing to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) a single transfer of N76,462,500.00 paid from Renderstack Technologies Ltd into the Providus Bank Ltd account No. 5400608751 operated by Official Gredo, as specified under section 10(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
Nairametrics reports that the company and Okereke among several firms and individuals were indicted by the EFCC for negotiating United States Dollar Tether (USDT) against the Naira with the public, despite not being an authorized dealer in the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market.
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Okereke pleaded guilty to the one-count charge.
Subsequently, EFCC lawyer Martha Babatunde, Esq., and the defendant’s counsel, I.O. Offodili, urged the court to affirm the contents of the plea bargain as agreed by the parties.
According to the plea bargain, the defendant admitted committing the offense and has restituted N140,000,000 to the EFCC, being part of the amount associated with the disputed transaction.
Passing his ruling, Ekwo convicted the company and affirmed the plea bargain agreement.
The judge stated that the plea bargain agreement between the complainant and the defendant shall not prevent further investigations from being carried out on other persons or companies with respect to the case.
He said the defendant’s director shall, at all material and reasonable times, be available to assist the EFCC during further investigations related to this case.
“The Defendant shall forfeit the sum of N140,000,000 recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the course of the investigation to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“The sum of N140,000,000 being the amount restituted by the Defendant shall be deducted from the account of CZMUNCH FABRICATORS AND WIRING VENTURES—CHIMERA LOGISTICS AND HAULAGE SERVICES, with account number 5435830566 domiciled in Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, which will be transferred to the EFCC Recovery Account,” Ekwo said.
The judge subsequently sentenced the company to a fine of N1 million, stating it is to be paid to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Ekwo held that the defendants should pay the amounts within fourteen days or the EFCC should bring the director back to be sent to prison.
What you should know
This is the latest conviction of a Nigerian crypto firm over unlicensed USDT-Naira transactions.
Nairametrics previously reported that two Nigerian crypto dealing companies, Paparaxy Global Ventures Limited and Lemskin Technologies Limited, had refunded N160,000,000 to the federal government after being indicted for allegedly conducting the business of other financial institutions illegally.
The case stems from the EFCC’s ongoing investigation, which revealed that several bank accounts are linked to individuals allegedly using virtual cryptocurrency exchange platforms to manipulate the value of the Naira illegally and launder proceeds from unlawful activities.
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