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 Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.
The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.
At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.
According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.
It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.
The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.
The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.
As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.
Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.
Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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