Two Nigerian cryptocurrency dealing companies have agreed to refund a total of 160,000,000 Nigerian Naira (approximately $340,000) to the federal government after being accused of conducting financial transactions without proper licensing.
Paparaxy Global Ventures Limited and Lemskin Technologies Limited entered into a plea bargain agreement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, that was exclusively seen by Nairametrics.
The agreement was announced before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, October 14, 2024. According to the plea bargain, Paparaxy refunded 140,000,000 Naira, while Lemskin Technologies refunded 20,000,000 Naira.
The companies admitted to conducting unauthorized foreign exchange transactions, including trading the US Dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT against the Nigerian Naira, without a valid license. They also failed to report their activities to the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML), as required by law.
This development follows previous efforts by the EFCC to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency activities in the country. In September 2024, the agency secured a court order to freeze 548,600,000 Naira in bank accounts belonging to suspected crypto users on platforms like ByBit and KuCoin.
The plea bargain deals with Paparaxy and Lemskin are part of the EFCC’s broader investigation into money laundering, foreign exchange contraventions, and terrorism financing activities allegedly occurring on certain cryptocurrency exchange platforms in Nigeria.
As part of the agreement, the directors of the two companies will have to depose to an affidavit of good behavior before the court. The EFCC has also instituted amended charges against the companies alone, which will be heard at the next adjourned date, paving the way for a final verdict on the two businesses.