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Binance Will Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny

Two Binance executives were recently detained in the country, and the exchange’s CEO Richard Teng, has been summoned to appear before a committee.

By Camomile Shumba
AccessTimeIconMar 5, 2024 at 11:18 a.m. UTC
Updated Mar 8, 2024 at 10:39 p.m. UTC
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  • Binance is not authorized to operate in Nigeria and has recently faced allegations of operating illegally there and fixing the country’s exchange rate.
  • Binance’s CEO was summoned by the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Crimes as it investigates money laundering and terrorist financing.

Binance plans to discontinue its Nigerian Naira (NGN) services following increased scrutiny from the country’s regulators.

The crypto exchange will delist any existing NGN pairs by Thursday, and on Friday any remaining NGN balances in a user account will be converted to USDT.

“Users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto prior to the discontinuation of these NGN services,” a company blog post said on Tuesday.

Nigerian regulators have been investigating the exchange, which is not authorized to operate in the country. The House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Crimes summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to appear by March 4 to address the investigations into alleged money laundering and terror financing, the Punch reported.

Before the investigation, two Binance executives had reportedly been detained following an investigation in February. The executives were not charged at that point, but Bloomberg reported that they could face allegations of currency manipulation, tax evasion and illegal operations.

CoinDesk reached out to Binance for updates but has not heard back despite several emails.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.


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Camomile Shumba
Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. She previously worked as an intern for Business Insider and Bloomberg News. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

Follow @camomileshumba on Twitter

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