🚨Big move in Nigerian cryptocurrency freeze! Nearly $40 million in funds were stopped by the court! 📢
🇳🇬A Nigerian court recently ordered the freezing of $38 million worth of cryptocurrency funds, which were said to be used to support anti-government protests across the country. The decision came at a time when tensions were high in Nigeria due to rising costs of living, causing many people to worry that the government was targeting protesters.
💸Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reportedly said the frozen assets were proceeds from money laundering and terrorist financing. But they haven't revealed whose assets they are.
🗣️Just in early August, Nigeria's#EndBadGovernanceprotests were organized in a big way, with people taking to the streets to express their protests against issues such as inflation, unemployment and poverty in the country. Security forces have also been accused of using excessive force during the protests, and more than 20 protesters are said to have died.
🔍Afterwards, Nigerian authorities began to toughen up, arresting some of the alleged organizers of the protests, as well as those who were believed to be using the gathering as a pretext for bad behavior.
🚫 However, this is not the first time the Nigerian government has frozen the funds of anti-government activists. They did something similar during the#EndSARSprotests in 2020.
🤔 In response, critics said that although the government said this was a normal money laundering and terrorist financing investigation, some criticized it for suppressing different voices and undermining everyone's right to gather peacefully.
🌐Even Binance, one of the world's largest exchanges, has been affected by this regulatory intensity. Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan is currently in a Nigerian prison and his health is worrying. He and another executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, face charges of money laundering of more than $35 million.
💬What do you think of the Nigerian government's practice of freezing the funds of cryptocurrency organizations? Let me know your views in the comments section!
