Key takeaways:
- Regarding allegations of money laundering and terrorism funding, Richard Teng has been contacted by the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes.
- The governor of the CBN expressed worries about Binance, citing the business’s involvement in “suspicious flows” of funds in 2023.
Regarding allegations of money laundering and terrorism funding, Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance Holding Limited, has been contacted by the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes.
The Punch, a local news source, reports that Ginger Onwusibe, the committee’s chairman, gave the management of Binance Holdings LTD. a seven-day ultimatum on Friday, March 1, at a panel, requiring them to appear before the committee by March 4, 2024, at the latest.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) expressed worries about Binance, an online cryptocurrency exchange, on February 27, citing the business’s involvement in “suspicious flows” of funds in 2023.
According to reports, Onwusibe issued a warning, stating that the committee would have to use its constitutional authority to carry out the required measures if Binance Holdings disregarded the summons.
According to the Punch, the committee requested a hearing with the managing director of Binance for December 18, 2023, via a letter dated December 12, 2023, and signed by its chairman, Onwusibe.
He was disappointed that Teng, the CEO of Binance Holding Limited, had not shown up despite being invited several times. Onwusibe underlined that it has to do with the regulations currently regulating the nation’s financial and corporate operations being completely disregarded.
Reiterating the committee’s resolve to fight financial crimes, Onwusibe emphasized that the constitution empowers them to protect Nigerians against economic crimes, especially those involving foreign corporations.
Two senior Binance officials are reportedly being held by the National Security Adviser’s office in Abuja, Nigeria, as the country attempts to clamp down on cryptocurrency exchanges in an effort to quell naira-related speculation.
In the midst of a crackdown on the cryptocurrency exchange, Binance removed the naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) service on Wednesday, February 28.
Users, buyers, and sellers can transact without the involvement of a third party due to the P2P feature. Following the government’s ban on the country’s booming cryptocurrency business during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, it gained popularity in Nigeria in 2021.
However, the CBN reversed a two-year restriction on banks conducting cryptocurrency transactions in December 2023 and simultaneously released regulations for virtual asset service providers. Nigeria was the second nation to introduce a digital currency issued by a central bank in 2022. The naira-pegged cNGN stablecoin was also introduced in a CBN regulator sandbox in February by the Africa Stablecoin Consortium.
