A Nigerian court has sentenced a Lagos resident to nine years in prison for laundering proceeds linked to fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions in one of the country’s latest prosecutions tied to digital asset-related financial crimes, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, convicted Taofeek Daniel Oriola after he pleaded guilty to a three-count charge bordering on money laundering and concealment of proceeds of unlawful and fraudulent crypto activities, Nigerian media reported this week.
According to the EFCC, prosecutors alleged that Oriola concealed assets acquired from fraudulent cryptocurrency dealings, including a 2014 Range Rover Supercharged and a five-bedroom apartment with boys’ quarters in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State. Authorities also linked a parcel of land and an iPhone 16 to the illicit proceeds.
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The anti-graft agency said the offences violated provisions of Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
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Following the guilty plea, prosecution counsel H.U. Kofarnaiza presented documentary evidence that was admitted by the court, reports said. Justice Osiagor sentenced Oriola to three years imprisonment on each of the three counts, with the sentences to run concurrently. The court also gave him the option of paying a total fine of 600,000 naira ($375) and ordered him to undertake seven days of community service.
The judge further ordered the forfeiture of the recovered assets to the Federal Government of Nigeria, including the luxury SUV, the apartment, the land parcel in Ibeju-Lekki and the mobile phone.
Nigeria has intensified enforcement actions involving cryptocurrency-related fraud and money laundering as digital asset adoption continues to expand across Africa’s largest economy. The country remains one of the world’s biggest peer-to-peer crypto markets despite increased scrutiny from regulators and law enforcement agencies.
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