According to local reports, Nigerian police have arrested the self-proclaimed crypto billionaire Linus Williams on fraud and terrorism funding charges.
Nigerian police have arrested self-proclaimed crypto billionaire Linus Williams on fraud and terrorism funding charges, a police spokesman said on July 16.
Williams, also known as Blord, faces charges related to internet fraud, terrorism funding, and violations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, according to Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi, spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Adejobi said in a statement that some of Williams’ alleged crimes involve the use of cryptocurrency in committing fraud.
“The FCID (NPF-NCCC) is currently investigating complaints lodged against Blord Group, Blord Real Estate Ltd, Blord Jetpaye Limited, and Billpoint Technology. These offences include allegations bordering on cryptocurrency fraud, aiding internet fraud, computer-related fraud, terrorism funding, and non-compliance with regulatory frameworks,” Adejobi stated.
An Blord Group employee was arrested by police in June for allegedly defrauding a victim of N1.5 billion ($3.4 million) in cryptocurrency.
The police spokesman said the NPF will carry out due diligence and vowed to keep the Nigerian cyberspace safe and secure.
While the police did not share greater details about Williams’ alleged criminal acts, an unnamed player in the Nigerian crypto industry told TechCabal that the self-proclaimed billionaire had it coming.
The source said that Williams was all over the place, and industry leaders have not been able to determine if he is a trader or an investor.
“We don’t even know if he is licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission or not. Some of the crypto associations in the country do not even recognize him,” the source said.
There are also allegations that Williams operated an exchange platform that purchased the stablecoin USDT and bitcoin using the naira.
Nigerian authorities recently outlawed this practice, leading several global crypto exchanges to drop trading pairs featuring the naira from their respective platforms.
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