- The Nigerian Department of State Security arrested two Binance executives on Monday in Abuja.
- The arrest was a part of the ongoing investigations into crypto exchanges in Nigeria, including Binance and Kraken.
- The CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso states that Binance Nigeria has been involved in $26 billion in illicit flows.
In the latest turn of events amid the increasing regulatory crypto scrutiny in Nigeria, two Binance executives have been arrested in the West African nation. Despite their attempt to flee when the country decided to ban certain crypto trading websites, they were arrested, and their passports were seized.
Currently, Nigeria is experiencing a foreign exchange crisis, with its local currency naira, hitting record lows on Wednesday. While the country framed new rules and strategies to limit outflows, Nigeria imposed restrictions on certain crypto exchanges, including Binance and Kraken. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu shared an X post, stating these crypto exchanges have been hijacking the role of CBN, “blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria.”
Over the last few days, Binance has been facing increased scrutiny from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies. Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stated that the regulators oversee crypto exchanges, especially Binance, concerning suspicions of illicit flows.
Cardoso asserted that the regulators had identified some illicit flows going on in crypto exchanges across the nation. He added that in Binance Nigeria alone, $26 billion in flows has been traced from “sources and users who we cannot adequately identify.”
The CBN Head posited that the Nigerian authorities, including the police, are doing their best to tackle the prevailing issues. As per Cardoso’s words, they are “determined” to do anything to restrict anyone from manipulating the Nigerian market.
According to reports, the Nigerian Department of State Security detained the Binance executives in relation to the ongoing investigations into crypto exchanges. Though these employees were detained on Monday in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, the officials did not disclose the exact reason for the arrest. The arrested employees were American and British citizens.
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