Peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace Paxful from Estonia has been accused in Nigeria of illegal account closures, causing its Nigerian users to be blocked from accessing their funds worth millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies.

According to local Nigerian newspaper Punch (Apr 7), a non-governmental organization (NGO) called United Global Resolve for Peace (UGRP) made the allegations in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a Nigerian law enforcement agency.

The petition, signed by UGRP executive director Shalom Olaseni and dated April 2, stated that user accounts had been closed despite having not been found to be used in any fraudulent activities and that Paxful had “refused” to return the funds held in these accounts.

The document noted that Paxful had earned $20 million in profit last year, with 40% of its revenue coming from Nigerian transactions. It accused Paxful of “willful disregard for contract and rules of commercial transaction”, and for doing “a lot to rob Nigerians of their hard-earned money by its unrestrained activities of blocking their accounts”.

Samuel Olanrewaju, one of the victims, said that Paxful suspended his account claiming he used a fake profile online – a charge he denies. He, in turn, claims that Paxful has refused to respond to him further on the matter. Olanrewaju had three Bitcoins (BTC) in his Paxful wallet (worth about $10,900 at press time).

He also accused Paxful of allowing “illegal trading”, and of allowing the sale of iTunes and Walmart cards although these could not be exchanged in Nigeria.

Paxful has denied the allegations, claiming in an email statement that “all accounts that have been shut down have a reason for it. We will not shut down any account unless they violate our TOS (Terms of Service).”

Paxful made the news last month when The Crypto Sight reported that its #BuiltWithBitcoin charity campaign had set a target to build 100 schools across Africa fully funded in cryptocurrency.

In March 2018, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) warned citizens about unauthorized transactions in cryptocurrency, which are not insured under NDIC.