EFCC arraigns FBI suspect Godslove Obiwuru in Enugu over money laundering linked to crypto fraud, as court adjourns for bail hearing

The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission brought the case after a petition from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation alleged Obiwuru’s involvement in a cryptocurrency account takeover scheme.

Also read: CBEX: EFCC charges two over alleged crypto scam in Abuja

One of the charges stated that in 2022, Obiwuru retained 0.042 Ethereum worth $50 at the time in a Binance wallet, knowing or reasonably suspecting it was proceeds of crime.

The offence is said to contravene Section 20(a) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Obiwuru pleaded not guilty. EFCC counsel A.Y. Abdullahi urged the court to fix a trial date and sought his remand at a correctional facility.

However, defence lawyer Abel Anih requested a short adjournment to allow him to file a bail application.

Justice Segun-Bello adjourned the matter for the bail hearing and ordered that the defendant be held in EFCC custody pending the court’s decision.

According to the FBI’s petition, in November 2022 a Coinbase account belonging to a US citizen was compromised, leading to the theft of more than 90,000 Gold Retriever Tokens (GLDN), valued at about $307,394 at the time.

Investigators alleged that a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency was traced to Obiwuru’s Binance account.

Also read: Man jailed over $42,000, N37 million crypto money laundering case

Further EFCC inquiries suggested he also received funds linked to another victim. The case is expected to test growing cooperation between Nigerian authorities and international partners in tackling cybercrime.