Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday granted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s request to block accounts of six fintech companies for the next six months.

The firms are Rise Vest Technologies Limited, Bamboo Systems Technology Limited, Bamboo Systems Technology Limited OPNS, Chaka Technologies Limited, CTL/Business Expenses, and Trove Technologies Limited.

The judge gave the order while ruling on a motion filed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Micheal Aondoakaa (SAN), on behalf of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

The apex bank approached the court to order the temporary freezing of the companies’ accounts pending the conclusion of an investigation into their financial activities.

The CBN alleged that Rise Vest Technologies Limited, Bamboo Systems Technology Limited, Chaka Technologies Limited and Trove Technologies Limited operate in Nigeria without licenses as asset management companies and utilize forex sourced from the Nigerian foreign exchange market for purchasing foreign bonds/shares in contravention of its circular with reference No: TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/012 and dated July 01, 2015.

The apex bank told Justice Mohammed that the foreign exchange deals with the defendants contributed to the devaluation of the Naira, hence the need to block their accounts for 180 days.