Nigeria Fines Binance With $10 Billion Fine Amidst Crypto Crackdown

Nigerian authorities have imposed a $10 billion fine on global cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, amidst an ongoing government investigation into cryptocurrency activities within the country.

This was disclosed by President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a BBC interview on Friday morning.

The fine follows heightened regulatory scrutiny, with two Binance executives detained by the Office of the National Security Adviser earlier in the week in response to mounting pressure.

Nigeria’s Presidency and regulatory sources said the government decided to move against Binance and other crypto firms following reports that currency speculators and money launderers were using them to execute criminal activities. Authorities believe the ‘criminal activities’ going on platforms are contributing significantly to the weakening of the naira.

Recall that Nigeria’s Central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso, flagged concerns on Tuesday regarding potential illicit activities facilitated through crypto exchanges like Binance. Cardoso specifically cited Binance Nigeria, highlighting a significant volume of transactions amounting to $26 billion over the past year, originating from unidentified sources and users.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) instructed the Nigerian Communications Commission to suspend access to crypto websites, including Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. This directive came shortly after Binance restricted peer-to-peer transactions involving the USDT/NGN pair, coinciding with a record decline in the value of the Naira.