In a significant development in the push for Binance regulation in Nigeria, the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Binance to disclose user data to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court’s decision, made with the consent of one party, is an important step in the country’s efforts to investigate potential cases of money laundering, currency manipulation and terrorist financing related to cryptocurrency exchanges.
Expanding Investigations: Growing Demand for Data from Nigerian Authorities
At a court hearing on March 18, EFCC operatives disclosed that the agency’s Special Investigation Team had picked up suspicious activities and urged: Binance All trading activities related to Naira will be suspended. Initially, Nigerian authorities sought six months of transaction records for the top 100 local users.
However, the scope of the demand has expanded to include all Nigerian customers of the platform and the specific trading activity under investigation has not been disclosed.
Binance’s confrontation with Nigerian authorities
The court’s order follows the arrest of two Binance executives by Nigerian authorities nearly three weeks ago. Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were detained in Abuja on February 26 after the regulator invited them for discussions. Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso claimed that more than $26 billion of untraceable wealth had flowed through Binance, causing the naira to rapidly depreciate.
Also Read: Binance Executive Detained in Nigeria Over Cryptocurrency’s Impact on Currency Crisis
Despite the lack of concrete data to support these claims, the government threatened to impose a hefty $10 billion fine on Binance for allegedly enabling foreign exchange manipulation by widely converting naira to Tether’s stablecoin USDT. .
Binance has emphasized its cooperation with Nigerian law enforcement agencies since June 2020. The exchange also urged local authorities to work with cryptocurrency stakeholders, known for constructive cooperation.
teaHis legal entanglement in Nigeria comes after Binance settled regulatory issues in the United States, where it agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines to the Justice Department. Additionally, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO and was told to hand over his Canadian passport as legal proceedings unfold.