Nigerian Financial Crimes Committee Summons Binance CEO Over Money Laundering Allegations
Summary:
Nigeria's House of Representatives' Financial Crimes Committee has summoned Binance Holding's CEO, Richard Teng, over allegations of terrorism financing and money laundering. Earlier, the Nigerian Central Bank Governor had raised concerns about "suspicious financial transactions" via Binance in 2023. The committee has warned Binance to cooperate or face constitutional actions. This move comes as Nigeria tightens regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Financial Crimes Committee of Nigeria's House of Representatives has summoned Richard Teng, CEO of Binance Holding Limited, over concerns of alleged funding of terrorism and laundering money. Local media, The Punch, reports that the Committee's Chair, Ginger Onwusibe, handed down a one-week directive to Binance Holding's management to appear before the committee by March 4, 2024, during a panel meeting on Friday, March. 1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor voiced apprehensions on Feb. 27 regarding Binance, a web-based cryptocurrency exchange, citing "unusual fund transfers" through the 2023 platform. Onwusibe reportedly warned that if Binance Holding failed to honor the summons, the committee might invoke its constitutional powers to enforce necessary measures.
The Punch indicated that the committee, through a letter dated Dec. 12, 2023, signed by Onwusibe, a meeting was requested with Binance's Managing Director on Dec. 18, 2023. Onwusibe, displeased by Teng's absence despite multiple invites, underlined that this was a blatant disregard for existing laws regulating business and financial procedures in Nigeria.
Onwusibe reiterated the committee's dedication to battling financial fraud, insisting that Nigerians must be protected from financial crimes, especially those involving foreign corporations.
The National Security Adviser's office has also reportedly arrested two Binance high-ranking officials in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, as part of the country's efforts to regulate cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Amid a clampdown on the crypto exchange, Binance removed the naira from its peer-to-peer(P2P) service on Feb. 28. The P2P service, popular in Nigeria since 2021, allows users to trade without the intervention of a third party, in response to the government's crypto industry ban, during former President Muhammadu Buhari's reign.
In December 2023, however, the CBN lifted the ban on banks transacting in crypto, simultaneously issuing guidelines for the regulation of virtual asset service providers. Nigeria became the second country to introduce a central bank digital currency in 2022. And in February, the Africa Stablecoin Consortium launched the cNGN stablecoin, linked to the naira, in a CBN regulator sandbox.
Published At
3/3/2024 2:28:38 PM
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