The Nigerian government’s demand for retribution comes several months after Binance pleaded guilty and agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement to resolve criminal money laundering charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In a desperate bid to salvage the value of the nation’s local currency, the Nigerian government is seeking retribution of at least $10 billion from Binance amid a crackdown on the cryptocurrency exchange platform.
The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga,revealed this information in a Friday morning interview with the BBC.
During the interview, Mr. Onanuga claimed that Binance reaped significant profits from its “illegal transactions” in Nigeria, causing substantial losses to the nation.
Earlier on Friday, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) confirmed that the Nigerian authorities are investigating the crypto exchange platform.
In the first official acknowledgment of the crackdown on Binance and other crypto platforms, a senior official from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) confirmed to that their office is orchestrating an interagency investigation into Binance’s operations.
“I am confirming that the office of the national security adviser, as part of ongoing operations in the foreign exchange market with the CBN and other law enforcement and security agencies, is coordinating an interagency investigation into the operations of Binance,” Zakari Mijinyawa, head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, said after multiple requests for comment Thursday.
As of Thursday night, Mr. Mijinyawa did not furnish any additional details regarding the investigations.
Recall that the two executives were apprehended in Abuja, the federal capital territory, a few days after arriving in the country to engage in negotiations with Nigerian authorities in response to the crypto platform crackdown.
Arriving earlier in the week to negotiate with the government during the crackdown, the Binance officials faced an impasse in the meetings as they declined to meet certain demands put forward by the Nigerian government.
Additionally, they were accused of running a business worth billions without the necessary registrations and documentation.
