Nigeria Imposes $10 Billion Fine on Binance for Currency Manipulation

Nigeria has recently made a formal request to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, to pay a substantial penalty of $10 billion. The Nigerian government alleges that Binance played a significant role in the sharp devaluation of Nigeria’s fiat currency, the Naira. This demand comes as the Naira has experienced a significant drop in value of nearly 70% in recent months, and the government blames Binance for this decline.

President Ahmed Tinubu’s administration asserts that Binance manipulated exchange rates, leading to the destabilization of the Naira and facilitating illegal financial activities such as money laundering, theft, and fraud. In response, the government has taken strong action by detaining two top international executives from Binance for investigation on charges related to money laundering and terrorist funding.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised concerns about the transparency of transactions involving Binance’s Nigerian operations. Approximately $26 billion passed through these operations, and the CBN was unable to fully trace these transactions. This lack of transparency has cast doubt on the reliability of cryptocurrency transactions in Nigeria and has added to existing skepticism toward the crypto industry.

Binance also faces legal hurdles in Nigeria. According to Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, Binance and similar entities failed to register as required by Nigerian law. This issue came to light after Nigeria lifted its ban on cryptocurrencies, with the condition that all operators must be duly registered.

In response to pressure from the government, Binance has reportedly started cooperating by removing Naira transactions from its platform and engaging in talks to comply with Nigerian regulations. While this is seen as a positive step toward resolving the dispute, the outcome and duration of the ongoing investigation remain uncertain.