Nigerian authorities recently apprehended two high-ranking executives from Binance. They made this move as an attempt to curb speculation on the naira.
The Office of the National Security Adviser took the executives into custody getting to Nigeria, reported by Financial Times. This follows the country’s decision to impose restrictions on several cryptocurrency exchanges.
The report does not disclose the identities of the detained individuals. However, sources cited by the FT understand that authorities have confiscated their passports. As of the time of reporting, Binance has not made any public comments on the incident.
Due to the naira’s devaluation and high inflation, Nigerian authorities are now focusing on cryptocurrency websites. As reported earlier by crypto.news, the Nigerian government has directed telecom and internet service providers to limit access to several crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. This is part of an effort to protect the naira, the national currency, from frequent depreciation.
During a recent press briefing, Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of Nigeria’s central bank, mentioned Binance while discussing the flow of funds through crypto exchanges. He expressed concern over the substantial amounts of money that flowed through Binance Nigeria in 2023, amounting to $26 billion, from sources that the government “cannot adequately identify.”
According to the FT, sources close to the matter have revealed that Nigerian authorities have asked for a list of Nigerian users who have joined Binance since its inception. However, it is unclear whether this request is part of the negotiations to secure the release of the detained executives.
Earlier in February, Binance set a cap on the selling price of Tether (USDT) on its peer-to-peer platform in Nigeria. In a February 20 blog post to Nigerian users, the exchange vowed to collaborate with authorities and tackle non-compliance issues.
