Economy
Tether, Others Set Up Unit to Combat Crypto Crime
By Adedapo Adesanya
The trio of Tether, TRON, and TRM Labs have joined hands to establish the first-ever private sector financial crime unit to combat rampant illicit activities in the crypto industry, a move that will see action taken in the low-trust industry.
The initiative known as the T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU) is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at facilitating public-private collaboration to combat illicit activity associated with the use of USDT on the TRON blockchain.
This collaboration brings together the anti-financial crime expertise of TRM Labs, a leading blockchain intelligence firm; the technical expertise of TRON, a leading global blockchain and DAO; and external investigations team at Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry, to create a safer and more secure crypto community for all.
According to a statement, the initiative has helped to freeze over 12 million USDTs associated with a blackmail scam, an investment fraud scheme, and others, 12 in collaboration with law enforcement.
“Police are aware of at least 11 victims impacted by the scams and expect to identify additional victims as the investigations unfold,” the statement added.
Stablecoins like USDT have drawn the attention of scammers, terrorist financiers, and other threat actors banking on its attractive low fees, lack of volatility, and ease of use to carry out illicit activities.
And as the TRON blockchain’s popularity and user base grow, drawn by its high throughput and low transaction costs, so too does its uninvited exposure to these criminal elements.
The establishment of the T3 FCU represents a significant step towards impeding the ability of malicious actors to launder and utilize the proceeds of crime, safeguarding the integrity of the TRON blockchain.
TRM will provide ongoing support to TRON and Tether in identifying transactions that have a connection to alleged illegal activities such as terrorism, sanctions evasion, theft, hacking, cybercrime, and fraud.
The firm will leverage its proprietary technology as well as its global network of expert investigators to generate intelligence and support TRON’s and Tether’s efforts to disrupt criminal activity and aid collaborations with law enforcement around the world.
By collaborating to proactively identify and disrupt illicit activity, the T3 FCU aims to promote security and prosperity across the TRON network and beyond.
“TRON originated with the belief that technology can be used for good and to empower people across the globe,” said Mr Justin Sun, founder of the TRON blockchain said.
“By collaborating with TRM Labs and Tether, TRON is helping to ensure that blockchain technology is used to make our world a better place, and sends a clear message that illicit activity is not welcome in our industry,” he added.
On his part, Mr Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said – “At Tether, safeguarding the integrity of the blockchain ecosystem is a top priority and a responsibility we embrace with being a key player in the digital asset space. This commitment drives us to take proactive measures to help maintain the security and trustworthiness of the ecosystem.
“We’re proud to have worked with TRM Labs and TRON in this pioneering effort. This collaboration underscores our dedication to joining with industry leaders and law enforcement to combat illicit activity, ensuring a secure environment for all users.”
“As adoption of stablecoins continues to rise, it’s critical that key industry players proactively evolve their capabilities to combat illicit activity and ensure a safe and secure environment,” said Mr Chris Janczewski, head of global investigations at TRM Labs. “TRM is proud to collaborate with TRON, Tether, law enforcement, and others who are committed to helping build a safer blockchain industry for all.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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