Nigeria Intensifies Scrutiny Over Binance Amidst Concerns of Suspicious Transactions
Summary:
Nigeria's Central Bank Governor expressed concerns over 'suspicious transactions' via Binance in 2023, with authorities intensifying scrutiny of financial activities in cryptocurrency exchanges. Internet access to Binance was blocked following allegations of currency manipulation. Two Binance executives were also reportedly detained. Despite this, Nigeria was the second country to launch a central bank digital currency in 2022. Binance has yet to comment on the situation.
Nigeria's Central Bank Governor (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, on February 27, expressed concerns about 'suspicious transactions' potentially funneled through Binance Nigeria in 2023. The governor outlined his wariness to reporters, communicating unease regarding cryptocurrency exchanges within the country. He noted that the transactions amounting to $26 billion over the previous year could not be traced back to identifiable users or sources.
Taking their investigation further, authorities from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), local law enforcement, and the National Security Adviser's office are jointly working to scrutinize Binance's financial activities. The National Security Adviser's office reportedly confiscated the passports and detained two Binance executives domiciled in Abuja. These two individuals hail from the USA and UK.
Online access to Binance and similar platforms was prohibited beginning February 21 in Nigeria. This decision ensued after Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Advisor, accused cryptocurrency platforms of mediating the devaluation of the nation's currency. To appease regulators, a day before this, Binance had imposed restrictions concerning trading in Tether (USTD).
According to reports, Nigeria blocked access to numerous crypto exchanges, including Binance, Forextime, OctaFX, FXTM, Crypto, Coinbase, and Kraken on February 27. The Nigerian currency reached a record low against the USD on the same day.
In other related news, the Philippine SEC commenced its Binance ban countdown. However, Nigeria was one of the pioneers, second only to adopt the central bank digital currency in 2022.
After a two-year ban, CBN reinstated banks' participation in crypto transactions in December and also released guidelines for regulating virtual asset service providers. The African Stablecoin Consortium initiated the naira-linked cNGN stablecoin via a CBN regulator sandbox this month.
Binance has not responded to Cointelegraph's request for comments on the prevailing situation in Nigeria at the time of press release. Readers also showed interest in the magazine: 'Bitcoin in Senegal: Why is this African country using BTC?'
Published At
2/28/2024 11:41:36 PM
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