Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has sounded the alarm over the rapid rise in cryptocurrency-related crimes.

It warned that billions were being lost globally to illicit digital transactions.

The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, raised the concern during the inauguration of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Country Programme for Nigeria (2026–2030) in Abuja.

Olukoyede disclosed that more than $160 billion was lost globally in 2025 due to illicit cryptocurrency transactions, underscoring the scale of the threat.

He warned that digital currencies such as Bitcoin are increasingly being exploited by criminal networks to move funds across borders undetected.

According to him, advances in technology, weak regulatory frameworks, and gaps in global financial systems have created fertile ground for cyber-enabled financial crimes.

The anti-graft agency boss stressed that tackling cryptocurrency crime required coordinated national strategies, stronger institutions, and intelligence-driven enforcement.

According to him, the new UNODC programme comes at a critical time when Nigeria and the global community are facing growing threats from organised crime, cybercrime, and illicit financial flows.

Olukoyede described the initiative as a strategic platform to strengthen the rule of law, improve the criminal justice system, and protect citizens from financial and violent crimes.

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Musa Aliyu, in his comments, called for stronger inter-agency cooperation.

Aliyu said Nigeria faced interconnected threats, including violent extremism, smuggling, organised crime, and illicit financial flows, warning that no single agency could address them alone.

MEANWHILE, while Crypto platforms across Africa are rapidly improving identity verification performance as the industry moves toward stricter regulation and stronger fraud prevention, some countries have, however, remained a huge target for scams.

Countries in the region, which have seen increased targets including Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, amid a 28 per cent drop in the attempt on the region.

These findings are based on Sumsub, a leading full-cycle verification platform that enables scalable compliance,which just released its fourth yearly State of the Crypto Industry report.

The new research revealed how crypto companies were balancing fraud prevention, regulatory pressure, and user experience as they scale in 2026.

Vice Principal of Sales Africa at Sumsub, Hannes Bezuidenhout, said:”Africa’s crypto ecosystem is entering a phase where operational discipline matters more than momentum. As platforms scale, the focus is shifting from how fast they can grow to how effectively they can operate under increasing regulatory scrutiny. Compliance, fraud resilience, and onboarding efficiency are becoming interconnected challenges that must be addressed together.” (Guardian)

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