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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has detained a local man identified as Bamu Gift Wandji. He is suspected of creating a fake platform for investing in cryptocurrency.
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the man lured unsuspecting people into the Polyfarm scam, calling it a legitimate way to invest in crypto assets and promising investors big profits. Vanjie told clients that his Polyfarm platform was connected to the Polygon blockchain and launched its own token called Polyfarm Coin.
The suspect promoted his platform on the social network X, as well as WhatsApp and Telegram messengers, and held meetings and seminars in densely populated cities of the country: Lagos and Port Harcourt.
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The EFCC said Polyfarm was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) and was not licensed to conduct cryptocurrency or investment activities in the country. When affected investors encountered problems withdrawing funds, Wanjie said it was all the fault of North Korean hackers Lazarus Group, which he claimed hacked the platform. Law enforcement officers found that the platform was not actually subject to hacker attacks.
Investigators said Vanjie did not actually invest investors’ funds in cryptocurrencies. The creator of Polyfarm spent investors’ money on personal needs, according to NSCDC. The amount of damage suffered by investors is not specified. Money from new investors was distributed among early investors, that is, the project operated on the principle of a financial pyramid. The Polyfarm Coin token has not been registered on CoinMarketCap and other blockchain analytics platforms.
Last August, local authorities deported from the country more than a hundred foreigners convicted of crypto fraud. Later, the Nigerian financial regulator reported record volumes of cryptocurrency transactions in the country, warning local residents about the risks of investing in digital assets.
