Following this announcement, the fine was released after an alleged detrimental impact that Binance had through its operations on Nigeria’s economy. The platform was fixing its exchange rates in the region at an illegal rate, without making sure it met the needed regulatory requirements and laws of the local industry.
According to BBC News, Binance also facilitated activities that undermined Nigeria’s overall economic stabilisation efforts, as its platform harbored individuals that fixed the overall exchange rate capabilities. This process quickly affected the Nigerian economy, at a time when the country was trying to stabilise it and meet the needs, preferences, and demands of customers in an ever-evolving market.
The Nigerian Government confirmed the arrest of two foreign Binance executives who are currently being interrogated by security agencies on several charges, which include money laundering and financial terrorism.
In addition, officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) discovered that approximately USD 26 billion had been translated through the Binance Nigeria platform in cryptocurrency trades. This included many trades that originated from sources, individuals, and users that authorities were not able to adequately identify. At the same time, Binance, as well as other cryptocurrency companies, are not currently registered according to Nigerian laws. Thus, they are expected to be registered with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to operate compliantly within the country.
Following this, Binance has removed the Nigerian currency, the Naira, from its peer-to-peer (P2P) market feature, as the local authorities mentioned that the platform contributed to the overall devaluation of the Naira.
Binance officials started to cooperate with the government, providing it with essential information in order to aid the investigation. The government’s demand for USD 10 billion in damages underscores the severity of the situation, while details regarding the duration of the investigation and the details of the discussions remained undisclosed by both enterprises.
In addition, authorities requested Binance to provide 7 years' worth of transaction data regarding Naira, as well as other information that is related to Nigeria to be deleted from the company database. The platform currently faces multiple lawsuits and other regulatory conflicts with institutions in multiple countries around the world, such as the Philippines, the UK, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now