Bayo Onanuga, Special Advisor to the President of Nigeria, recently stated that the Nigerian government is demanding at least $10 billion in compensation from Binance to compensate for the significant economic losses caused by currency manipulation.
(Background:
Nigeria banned Binance, Coinbase, and other cryptocurrency exchanges: intending to manipulate the Naira exchange rate and create illegal money laundering loopholes.)
Since taking office in May last year, President Bola Tinubu has actively promoted market reforms, such as abolishing fixed exchange rate systems, to attract foreign investment and revitalize the economy (the Naira has depreciated significantly twice in the past eight months). In the face of significant devaluation of the fiat currency and skyrocketing inflation rates, many people have turned to cryptocurrency trading platforms.
However, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Advisor to the President, accused these exchanges of manipulating exchange rates last week and urged relevant authorities to take action. Subsequently, the Nigerian Communications Commission instructed telecom companies to block major exchanges such as Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken on February 21.
According to Bayo Onanuga, in an interview with the BBC yesterday, the Nigerian government is demanding at least $10 billion in compensation from Binance to compensate for the economic losses. He pointed out that the manipulation of exchange rates by Binance is illegal, and the central bank is the only institution with the authority to set exchange rates.
Two Binance executives detained
After Nigeria’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency exchange websites last week, two Binance executives who flew to Nigeria were detained and had their passports confiscated by the country’s National Security Advisor’s office.
Zakari Mijinyawa, Head of the Presidential National Security Advisor’s office, stated that these executives are currently under investigation. Mijinyawa stated that discussions and agreements are being made with Binance officials, and they are cooperating. However, Mijinyawa did not disclose detailed information about the length of the investigation or the agreements being discussed between the government and Binance.
After the detention of Binance executives, Binance also suspended trading pairs of Bitcoin/Naira and USDT/Naira.
Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, stated on Wednesday that the concern of the bank is that illegal funds are circulating through many cryptocurrency trading platforms. In the case of Binance, there has been up to $26 billion of untraceable funds flowing through Binance’s Nigerian platform in the past year.
Related reports:
UN report: North Korean hackers stole $3 billion for nuclear weapons development; affecting privacy coin XMR, Binance delisting causes a 40% drop
Binance faces regulatory obstacles in returning to the UK! Bloomberg: Multiple compliant companies refuse to cooperate with Binance
Binance still a leading exchange after settling with the United States, with over $5 billion in funds flowing in within two months.