The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Godslove Munachiso Obiwuru, a 26-year-old suspect linked to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), before the Federal High Court in Enugu State. Obiwuru faces a two-count charge bordering on money laundering, specifically related to cryptocurrency transactions.
According to the charge sheet, Obiwuru allegedly retained 0.042 Ethereum (equivalent to $50) in a Binance wallet account, knowing or reasonably ought to know it was proceeds of an unlawful act. The suspect pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC accused him of being involved in a cryptocurrency account takeover scheme, following a petition by the FBI.
The FBI’s investigation revealed that Obiwuru’s Binance account received part of the stolen cryptocurrency funds from a compromised Coinbase account belonging to a US citizen. The stolen funds amounted to approximately $307,394.00 worth of Gold Retriever Tokens (GLDN).
Preliminary investigations by the EFCC also suggested that Obiwuru received cryptocurrency allegedly stolen from two different victims.
The court adjourned the matter for a hearing of Obiwuru’s bail application, while the defendant was remanded in EFCC custody.
The EFCC’s counsel requested a trial date and for Obiwuru to be remanded at a correctional facility, while the defense counsel prayed for a short date to file a bail application.
