Breaking news: Nigeria fines Binance $10bn
A presidential advisor informed the BBC on Friday morning that Nigerian officials had fined Binance, the international cryptocurrency exchange at the epicenter of the nation’s crypto crackdown, $10 billion. According to the aide, Binance has been accused by authorities of profiting from “illegal transactions.”
The fine was announced just 48 hours after it was revealed that two executives of a major cryptocurrency exchange had been arrested by security services. After their websites were banned, the two executives took a plane to Nigeria last week, where they were taken into custody by the National Security Advisor’s (NSA) office.
The NSA later acknowledged that it was looking into Binance, although first denying claims of any arrests. However, it withheld any information regarding the probe.
The governor of the central bank, Olayemi Cardoso, stated on Tuesday that “$26 billion has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot identify.” There have been rumors that Binance has been contacted by the authorities requesting user information. It’s unclear if the business has provided the needed information.
