Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, is facing increased scrutiny in Nigeria, according to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso. He expressed concerns about “suspicious flows” of funds through Binance Nigeria in 2023, leading to the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission and other government agencies eyeing the exchange with suspicion.
Cardoso stated that crypto exchanges in Nigeria are under suspicion due to certain practices that indicate illicit flows. He mentioned the collaboration between different agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the police, and the National Security Adviser’s office.
There are also reports that the office of the National Security Adviser has detained and confiscated the passports of two Binance executives who are citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom.
On February 21, internet access to Binance and other exchanges was blocked in Nigeria after presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga alleged that crypto exchanges were manipulating the country’s currency. Binance had already implemented restrictions on Tether (USDT) trading in Nigeria on February 20 to comply with regulators.
According to reports, Binance, along with Forextime, OctaFX, Crypto, FXTM, Coinbase, Kraken, and other crypto exchanges, were blocked on February 27. As a result, the Nigerian naira reached an all-time low against the U.S. dollar on that day.
It is worth noting that the CBN lifted a two-year ban on banks engaging in crypto transactions in December, while also issuing guidelines for regulating virtual asset service providers. Nigeria was the second country to launch a central bank digital currency in 2022, with the Africa Stablecoin Consortium launching the naira-pegged cNGN stablecoin in a CBN regulator sandbox.
Binance did not provide a comment on the situation in Nigeria when approached by Cointelegraph.
Related: Why is Senegal, an African country, using Bitcoin?