Binance highlights key figures from the Nigerian government and promises the safe return of its employees following their arrests.
Amid tensions between the Nigerian government and Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange announced significant measures to ensure the safety of its Nigerian employees, while also presenting data demonstrating its commitment to responsible cryptocurrency growth in the region. Binance seeks to provide support to Nigerian employees by working closely with Nigerian officials and emphasizing its commitment to regulatory compliance. This move is especially important given the recent incident in which the regulator detained two senior Binance executives on charges of destabilizing the naira currency.
Binance Highlights Key Facts from Nigeria
Binance’s recent blog post highlights its dual focus on team member safety and strict compliance with local regulations. Despite the challenges in Nigeria, the company expressed its strong commitment to working with Nigerian authorities to ensure the safe return of its employees, emphasizing the importance of its employees’ integrity and the support provided to their families during this difficult time.
According to the blog, Binance is working closely with Nigerian authorities to keep users safe, fight crime, and deter illegal activities. The company’s strong focus on securing the cryptocurrency market is evident in its efforts to collaborate with local officials.
With Nigeria ranked second in Chainalysis’ 2023 Global Grassroots Crypto Adoption Index, the importance of a trustworthy platform for cryptocurrency trading is a top priority, Binance said. From June 2020 to February 2024, Binance responded to 626 requests from Nigerian authorities to help combat crimes such as fraud and money laundering, often responding within 37.4 hours.
Binance blocked 281 Nigerian accounts in January 2022 due to money laundering risks. Binance also conducted two trainings in Nigeria in 2023 to train more than 30 EFCC officials on cryptocurrency investigations. They conducted a three-hour online workshop for 70 EFCC officials in August 2023 and discussed ongoing training with Nigeria’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
Binance highlighted these statistics to demonstrate its commitment to developing a safe cryptocurrency environment in Nigeria. The company aims to make it clear that it has not contributed to the destabilization of the naira. By working closely with regulators over the past few years, Binance has been actively pursuing the safe expansion of cryptocurrency markets in line with its goals as a leading exchange.
Regulators require documents from Binance.
According to the Financial Times, Nigeria has asked Binance to provide details of its top 100 users in the country along with their trading history over the past six months. The request comes as the detention of Binance’s compliance officer and African regional manager enters its third week.
Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla have been detained in a “guesthouse” in Abuja by Nigeria’s National Security Agency since their arrival on February 25 at the invitation of the Nigerian government. . News of their detention was announced on February 29, but the identities and positions of the detained executives were only revealed last Tuesday.