By Correspondent in Abuja.
(C) Wikipedia.
At least ,14,000 Nigerian investors have petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate a cryptocurrency trading platform, MTS/TOFRO, over an alleged ₦1.8 trillion investment fraud.
In separate petitions also sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the investors, through their lawyer, Ebuka Nwaeze, called for a thorough probe into the company’s compliance with regulatory requirements and the circumstances surrounding its alleged collapse.
According to Nwaeze, the EFCC received the petition on August 6, while the SEC acknowledged receipt on August 13. Certified true copies of the documents were made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja.
The petition urged the EFCC to trace, recover, and redistribute investors’ funds, and to prosecute anyone found culpable in the alleged scam. Nwaeze argued that decisive action would serve as a deterrent to future fraudsters and help protect Nigeria’s cybersecurity reputation.
“We are solicitors to Nigerians from various walks of life who engaged in digital trading on the MTS/TOFRO cryptocurrency platform.
“Our clients number over 14 million registered traders, conducting legitimate exchange and trade of digital assets under what was presented as a secure platform. The firm, registered in the United States, claimed to have widespread participation in America and Europe,”the petition read.
Nwaeze alleged that the platform’s operators exploited the SEC’s push for regulation of crypto trading to convince investors that, they were in the process of registration and would soon reopen after full compliance. Instead, he said, the company shut down its physical offices.
He added that many investors were drawn to the platform in line with the Federal Government’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020–2030), which promotes digital transformation to create jobs and raise the digital economy’s GDP contribution from 14.3% to 21% by 2030.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed receipt of the petition, stating: “The matter involving MTS/TOFRO is currently before the commission.”
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
