Nigerian government fines Binance $10B over accusation of influencing exchange rate
The Nigerian government has imposed a $10 billion fine on Binance, a cryptocurrency trading platform, over allegations of influencing the country’s forex crisis. The government claims that Binance engaged in illegal transactions that led to significant profits for the platform while causing substantial losses to the nation.
This is coming after the central bank of Nigeria’s Governor Olayemi Cardoso, said on Tuesday at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja, that over $26 billion passed through Binance in the past year at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja
Binance is accused of arbitrarily fixing dollar-naira exchange rates, negatively impacting the value of the local currency. The government alleges that Binance’s operations contributed to an increase in foreign exchange rates and a nearly 70% depreciation of the Naira in recent months.
Despite these claims, Binance has emphasized its commitment to regulatory compliance and user protection, implementing measures such as real-time monitoring and removal of non-compliant advertisements on its platform.
Binance has responded to the $10 billion fine imposed by the Nigerian government by cooperating with authorities, providing useful information, and suspending naira-related transactions on its platform.
According to the Cayman Islands-based cryptocurrency giant; we aim to chart a good relationship with the government and the people of Nigeria. We want to see our services restored in Nigeria very soon, but we have no intention of paying fines for personnel or services,
According to Peoples Gazette, emerging details have it that that Mr Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to President Bola Tinubu who was purported to have mentioned the figure of 10B dollars has also come around to clarify that his statement was misinterpreted.
“I said our government may impose heavy fines on Binance for what happened, I never said Binance had been informed about the fines or that it would be $10 billion.”
“I only said the amount may be imposed, which is because nothing has been finalised yet,” Mr Onanuga told The Gazette.
In a different statement to BBC Mr Onanuga said “Binance platform harbours people who fix the exchange rate which quickly affects the Nigerian economy for the time when Nigeria is trying to stabilize the economy,”
“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,” he added.
Despite the allegations of illegal transactions and currency manipulation, Binance officials have been in discussions with Nigerian officials but have faced deadlock due to some demands from the government.
The Nigerian government accused Binance of fixing exchange rates, negatively impacting the local currency, and operating without proper registrations or documentation. Binance executives were detained upon arrival in Nigeria, with their passports seized, as part of an investigation into the platform’s activities.
The company has faced regulatory challenges in various countries with the most recent one being the US where it was fined over $4.B and is currently under scrutiny in Nigeria for its operations