The House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has decided to issue a warrant of arrest against executives of the cryptocurrency platform Binance. This action comes after they failed to appear before the committee for an investigation.
On Monday, Chairman of the Committee, Ginger Onwusibe, announced that the warrant of arrest is intended to compel the executives to appear before the lawmakers to address allegations of sponsoring terrorism and financial crimes.
A lawyer representing Binance appeared before the committee and submitted a written statement, expressing the company’s apprehension about coming to Nigeria due to fears of further government arrests.
However, lawmakers rejected the lawyer’s explanation.
Last week, two Binance executives were detained in Nigeria, and the government is seeking nearly $10 billion in compensation from the cryptocurrency firm for allegedly manipulating foreign exchange rates, which have had adverse effects on the value of the naira.