- Nigeria wants Binance CEO Teng to answer questions on alleged suspicious fund flows.
- The government will institute legal measures against the exchange if Teng fails to appear.
The Nigerian government wants Binance CEO Richard Teng to appear before its officials to answer queries about its operations in the country. In particular, Nigeria wants answers on $26 billion, which it believes comprises suspicious fund flows.
According to the Nigerian officials, failure to respond to the latest summons would lead to litigation of the exchange. The officials accuse Teng of disregarding prior meetings. Ginger Onwusibe warns that Binance has exploited customers and operated without accountability. He said:
“You cannot run a company with over 10 million Nigerians on your platform without paying tax and having a physical office where Nigerians can lodge their complaints when they experience any challenge with your service. The era of exploitation is over, and all culprits must be held accountable.”
In addition to illegal operations, Nigeria accuses Binance of playing a role in the weakness of its local currency, naira. Authorities say Binance allowed criminals to engage in unlawful parallel crypto forex trading, which weakened its currency.
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A Difficult Time for Binance
Nigeria’s crackdown on Binance adds to its recent battles as the exchange struggles to become compliant in key jurisdictions. This comes after the US Justice Department fined the exchange $4.3 billion for criminal culpability. The then CEO Changpeng Zhao was forced to resign and is personally facing criminal charges in the US.
Recently, Nigeria detained two Binance executives as the country continues to implement financial market reforms under President Bola Tinumbu. Their retention saw Binance stop naira trading in Bitcoin and Tether.
