Nigeria wants Binance to reveal its top users, but leaders are still being held.
Nigeria has demanded that Binance reveal its top users, while executives continue to be jailed.
By a report from the Financial Times, Nigeria is aggressively pursuing information from Binance concerning its top 100 users in the nation as well as all transaction data spanning the previous six months.
This information coincides with the disclosure of the identities of the two executives from the cryptocurrency exchange who were arrested two weeks ago. The names of these executives are Tigran Gambaryan, who is the head of investigations for Binance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, who is the regional manager for Africa for the cryptocurrency platform, according to an article published by Wired on Tuesday.
At the beginning of this month, Gambaryan, who had previously worked as a federal agent in the United States with a specialty in cryptography, and Anjarwalla had their passports taken away from them and were detained at a government facility in Abuja, which is the capital of Nigeria. The detention of these individuals is a component of Nigeria’s greater assault on cryptocurrency exchanges, which coincides with the government’s dubious efforts to restore the naira, which is the native currency of the country.
The Nigerian government sent an invitation to Gambaryan, a citizen of the United States, and Anjarwalla, a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Kenya, to discuss Binance operations and the limitations that have been put on the cryptocurrency exchange. Before their imprisonment, both individuals responded to the request.
Concerns have been voiced by the Central Bank of Nigeria over the loss of tax income that may be incurred by unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance was also accused of operating unlawfully and of enabling “illicit flows from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” which totaled $26 billion. This accusation was made within the context of the investigation. In light of this, the executives who have been detained may be subject to accusations that are associated with illicit operations, tax evasion, and currency manipulation, as stated in a report by Bloomberg.
On the other hand, according to the families of the CEOs, as of Tuesday, none of them had been formally charged with any criminal wrongdoing. According to the Financial Times, the Nigerian anti-corruption agency was granted permission to hold both executives of Binance for fourteen days, which came to an end on Tuesday. On Wednesday, there will be a hearing to consider extending the court order that has been suggested.
Binance has decided to stop its naira (NGN) services during the last week as a response to the increased regulatory scrutiny and contentious negotiating techniques that have been used in Nigeria.
The request made by Nigeria for Binance’s top users in the nation has become the new focus point in the discussions between the largest cryptocurrency platform and the most prominent cryptocurrency market in Africa. Local media stated that Nigeria’s parliament threatened to issue a warrant of arrest for the company’s leaders and summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to submit answers about investigations into the company’s suspected participation in money laundering and terror financing. These allegations were made just one week ago.
During this time, records that were examined by the Financial Times indicate that Nigeria, through its national security adviser, has urged that Binance settle any tax issues that are still due.
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