The Nigerian federal government has announced its intention to seek at least $10 billion in retribution from Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms.
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, revealed this development during an interview with the BBC on Friday.
The move comes as part of the federal government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency exchange platforms, including Binance.
News About Nigeria earlier reported that two top executives of Binance were reportedly detained on February 20, 2024, over allegations of price manipulations.
Onanuga said that Binance is causing losses by fixing exchange rates on its peer-to-peer (p2p) platform.
According to Onanuga, the cryptocurrency platform is responsible for fixing illegal exchange rates, and that impacts Nigeria’s economy.
He stressed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the only authority authorised to fix the exchange rate for the country.
Onanuga further stated that Binance staff have cooperated with the government by providing information.
“The platform fixes the exchange rate for the country, and it is an illegal rate. The CBN is the only authority that can fix the exchange rate for the country. Binance platform harbours people who fix the exchange rate, which quickly affects the Nigerian economy at a time when Nigeria is trying to stabilise the economy,” Onanuga said.
Earlier, Onanuga had warned that Binance could destroy Nigeria’s economy if the federal government did not take decisive action against the company.
In June 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared the operations of Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Binance, illegal.
Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, disclosed on February 27, 2024, that $26 billion had passed through Binance Nigeria from unidentified sources within a year.
Cardoso stated that the CBN is working in collaboration with the SEC to eliminate price manipulations in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
The CBN had earlier announced a partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser to investigate and penalise those involved in illicit activities within the FX market.
