The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Omotade-Sparks Amos Sewanu the founder of Inksnation and the creator of Pinkoin a wanted man over alleged cryptocurrency fraud to the tune of Thirty Two million Naira ($82,000).
The message placed by the anti-corruption agency on The Nations newspaper said Sewanu’s offence includes obtaining by false pretense and names dropping.
BusinessDay reported that nearly 200,000 Nigerians – with over 5000 people active daily, still claim membership of a Telegram group created by InksNation, a platform flagged in June by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria.
Read more Nigerians still flock to Inksnation 3 months after scam warning from SEC
iBSmartify Nigeria the promoter of InksNation claims it invented a philanthropic blockchain platform that can end poverty in any country in less than 9 months. Other claims include inventing the world’s first reserve cryptocurrency called PinKoin and Africa’s first QR debit card called Pinkard.
Earlier in 2020 when it unleashed a series of online campaigns to attract users to its platform, the SEC had to issue a statement warning Nigerians that the activities of iBSmarty were illegal.
Apart from the several ambitious claims, the Whitepaper of InksNation makes many of which do not add up with the realities in the blockchain world, Paul Ezeafulukwe, President of Stakeholders in Blockchain Association of Nigeria (SiBAN) told BusinessDay the red flags are really fundamental. To start with, while InksNation claims to be a project on a blockchain there is no evidence to show that it actually exists. The only explanation provided of the type of blockchain is that it is “backed by human asset”.
In a statement following the EFCC release, SiBAN said the development calls for more investment in blockchain and cryptocurrency education and awareness.
“I believe that this is the best way to keep the community safe and investors protected, proactively,” said Senator Iyenhen, Secretary-General of SiBAN who signed the statement. “And this is where we need community support, including support from the media. We will remain vigilant.”
