A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of digital assets valued at $222,729.86 USDT to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The assets were recovered from Chinese nationals alleged to be part of a cyberterrorism and internet fraud syndicate.
Justice Alexander Owoeye gave the ruling on Monday, July 21, 2025, following an ex parte motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its counsel, Zeenat Atiku, on July 18, 2025.
The forfeited funds, stored in the Tether cryptocurrency (USDT), were part of evidence secured from a syndicate of 792 suspects arrested on December 10, 2024, during the EFCC’s massive clampdown dubbed “Eagle Flush Operation.”
According to an affidavit deposed by Muazu Abdulrahman, an EFCC investigator, the cybercrime syndicate operated under a Nigerian-registered company named Genting International Co. Limited (GICL).
The company’s Union Bank account (No. 0225100403) reportedly received over ₦2.268 billion between April 12 and December 23, 2024, funneled through cryptocurrency vendors Chukwuemeka Okeke and Alhassan Aminu Garba.
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Abdulrahman testified that Okeke and Garba, when invited and cautioned, admitted to receiving $2.38 million in USDT from the syndicate through peer-to-peer crypto transactions and also identified key wallet addresses linked to the fraud network.
Counsel to the EFCC argued that the assets were proceeds of computer-related fraud and money laundering, urging the court to grant a final forfeiture in favour of the federal government.
In his ruling, Justice Owoeye stated:
“I have read the motion and attachments and found sufficient merit in the application. Consequently, the motion succeeds and is hereby granted.”
The ruling marks a major milestone in Nigeria’s digital crime enforcement efforts, as law enforcement agencies continue to adapt to the evolving threats of cryptocurrency-enabled fraud.