According to developing reports, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may slam huge fines running into billions of dollars on one of the world’s biggest exchanges, Binance, and other cryptocurrency firms operating in the country. SEC, alongside other security operatives is currently probing allegations that the crypto companies had engaged in currency manipulations against the Naira without underlying transactions, a development which had contributed to the current FX liquidity crisis in the country. Binance had previously been sanctioned by the US Government for repeatedly engaging in currency manipulation. Following the crackdown by the Federal Government, the company yesterday reportedly suspended its operation and barred users from buying the USDT and USDC stablecoins with Naira following fresh investigations by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with security agencies.
A report by Financial Times alleged that security operatives had cracked down and detained two Binance executives, including an American and a British-Pakistani, following an invitation for a meeting with officials from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). Two high-ranking officials of the exchange, who recently arrived in the country, were arrested and subsequently detained while their passports were also seized, according to the UK-based news outlet. It was further gathered that during their interrogation by the NSA, the Binance executives were requested to provide data on their naira operations covering seven years back. The Federal Government also demanded that they delete naira information from their platform, a request that the Binance executives reportedly declined.
It was also reported that the Federal Government might have obtained a court warrant to detain both Binance official for at least 12 days to facilitate further probe into their suspected malicious operations in the country as well as uncover their collaborators. The crackdown on Binance followed ongoing investigations into the country’s foreign exchange market, which had reportedly endured years of distortions, manipulations, and speculations, leading to the continuous weakening of the naira against major currencies, particularly the US dollar, in recent times.
