The Nigerian government has unleashed a hefty $10 billion fine on Binance, escalating tensions amidst a crackdown on the cryptocurrency exchange platform aimed at salvaging the nation’s currency value.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, revealed this bombshell demand during a Friday morning interview with the BBC, as reported by Premium Times.
Mr. Onanuga lambasted Binance for profiting from “illegal transactions” in Nigeria while the nation suffered colossal losses.
Earlier on Friday, a report emanated from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) regarding the Nigerian authorities’ investigation into the crypto exchange platform.
In a significant move confirming the clampdown on Binance and other crypto platforms, a top official of the ONSA disclosed to an online newspaper the coordination of an interagency investigation into Binance’s operations.
“I am confirming that the office of the national security adviser, as part of ongoing operations in the foreign exchange market with the CBN and other law enforcement and security agencies, is coordinating an interagency investigation into the operations of Binance,” Zakari Mijinyawa, head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, said.
While precise details about the investigations remained elusive as of press time Thursday night, sources revealed that the government detained two Binance executives in Abuja as part of efforts to stabilize the foreign exchange market.
These executives, who arrived in Nigeria earlier in the week for negotiations, faced deadlock as they declined to comply with certain demands put forth by the Nigerian government.
The demand for compliance included providing transaction data involving the Nigerian Naira on the Binance platform over the last seven years and deleting certain Nigeria-related data from the platform.
However, the standoff ensued as Binance executives insisted on being taken to their respective countries’ embassies before complying.
While the identities of the detained executives remain murky, one is reported to be American, and the other British-Pakistani.
The Nigerian government secured a court warrant for the officials’ detention for at least twelve days initially, according to insider sources.
Mr. Onanuga reiterated that Binance’s lack of registration and presence in Nigeria facilitated arbitrary fixing of dollar-naira rates, further undermining the local currency’s value.
Despite Binance’s cooperation with the Nigerian government and suspension of naira-related transactions, Nigeria is adamant about the $10 billion retribution demand.
It would be recalled that earlier in the week, Mr. Onanuga warned of Binance’s potential to wreck Nigeria’s economy if left unchecked during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
He declared, “If we don’t clamp down on Binance, Binance will destroy the economy of this country. They just fix the rate.”
The government’s clampdown on Binance and other crypto firms follows concerns over currency speculation and money laundering activities, believed to be exacerbating the naira’s depreciation.
Binance, though pledging to address non-compliance and manipulative behavior, has remained tight-lipped amidst the intensifying regulatory scrutiny.
The government’s hefty retribution demand comes months after Binance pleaded guilty and agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement for criminal money laundering charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stepping down from his position pending criminal trial.
