The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised concerns over Binance's operations within the country, citing "suspicious flows" of funds and bringing to light the detention of two of its executives.
The situation escalates regulatory scrutiny on the crypto exchange, especially regarding its financial transactions in Nigeria throughout 2023.
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Governor Olayemi Cardoso of the CBN voiced worries over the practices of cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria, particularly pointing out the enormous sum of $26 billion channeled through Binance Nigeria last year.
According to Cardoso, these transactions involve unidentified sources and users, raising red flags over possible illicit financial flows. He expressed his concerns during a press briefing on February 27:
We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities, suspicious flows at best.
Further intensifying the scrutiny, reports have emerged that the National Security Adviser's office has detained and confiscated the passports of two Binance executives in Abuja for reasons still unknown to the public.
This underscores the concerted efforts of Nigerian authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the police, and other government bodies, to regulate the crypto space more tightly.
As Nigerian authorities tighten oversight on crypto exchanges like Binance, the global crypto community watches closely, anticipating the impact on digital currency operations and regulatory approaches worldwide.
Nigeria's involvement in crypto has been proven by Chainalysis, as the blockchain analytics firm marked Nigeria as one of the top countries showing the most enthusiasm for crypto, particularly among the lower-middle-income (LMI) countries.
