Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has revealed that many young cryptocurrency traders in Nigeria are unknowingly facilitating the financing of terrorism.
During an event held by civil society organisations in Abuja on May 16, Olukoyede explained that some traders receive funds from backers involved in terrorism without being aware of the true source of the money.
He noted that this has been a significant issue in the investigation of virtual currency trading.
“Some of you are aware of our activities in the area of investigating virtual currency trading and the like of cryptocurrencies. They are potential platforms to fund terrorism. A lot of us don’t understand that,” Olukoyede stated. “Some of our discoveries during the investigation of some of these platforms were mind-boggling. We thought Binance was a major one. Yes, it was. We are prosecuting them. But there are other platforms we have discovered. They used some of these young men. Some of them don’t know that the people who gave them money to trade are people who fund terrorism.”
Additionally, Olukoyede disclosed that a portion of the 1,146 bank accounts recently frozen by the EFCC were being used to funnel money for terrorist activities. He emphasized the critical role of technology in monitoring and tracing funds used for terrorism.
