Justice A. Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the temporary forfeiture of digital wallet assets totalling $222,729.86 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
This ruling follows the recovery of the assets from an alleged conspiracy of 792 cryptocurrency investment and romance fraudsters detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) during a surprise operation on December 10, 2024.
Zeenat Atiku, the EFCC’s legal counsel, submitted an ex parte plea for forfeiture, alleging intelligence on a large-scale fraud operation involving foreign nationals in Lagos.
The court was informed that the syndicate funded its activities through Genting International Co. Limited (GICL).
Atiku said that the seized digital wallet assets were reasonably suspected to represent the profits of illegal activities.
The session, which was attended by legal representatives from numerous authorities, focused on the consequences of cryptocurrencies in promoting fraud.
Justice Owoeye directed the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a national newspaper so that any interested parties might appeal the decision in court within 14 days.
The court has delayed the dispute until March 7, 2025, for a compliance report.
