FG slams $10 Billion Fine on Binance over Forex Crisis as Dollar Crashes Against Naira on Platform
- The Nigerian government is seeking about $10 billion as a fine from the crypto exchange platform Binance
- The government, via a special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the information
- He said the government is seeking the fine as a penalty for Binance Nigeria fixing the exchange rate on the platform
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Legit.ng's Pascal Oparada has reported Tech, Energy, Stocks, Investment and the Economy for over a decade.
The Nigerian government says it demands about $10 billion as a fine from the cryptocurrency platform Binance for profiting from illegal forex transactions in Nigeria.
Reports say Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, stated this on Friday, March 1, 2024.
Source: UGC
FG orders telcos to block Binance
Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian government began a crackdown on Binance and other crypto platforms and asked telecommunications firms to block access to the site in Nigeria.
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In another report, the Nigerian government detained two Binance officials on February 28, 2024, who flew down to the country to resolve the issue with the Nigerian government.
Onanuga said the crypto exchange is causing massive losses for fixing exchange rates on the platform.
FG slams Binance for fixing FX rates
He said the Nigerian government is seeking the penalty from Binance for fixing forex rates on its peer-to-peer platform.
Onanuga said:
"The platform fixes the exchange rate for the country, and it is an illegal rate. The CBN is the only authority that can fix the exchange rate for the country," Onanuga said.
"The Binance platform harbours people who fix the exchange rate, quickly affecting the Nigerian economy when Nigeria tries stabilising it.
"Binance staff cooperated with the government to provide information."
SEC calls Binace's activities illegal
TheCable reported that on June 9, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Binance's operation in Nigeria was illegal.
The presidential aide said Binance will ruin Nigeria's economy if the government does not clamp down on it.
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed during the MPC meeting on February 27, 2024, that Binance Nigeria processed about $26 billion in 2023.
He said the bank is partnering with the SEC to eliminate price manipulations and speculations in the foreign exchange market.
Dollar crashes against naira on Binance
Legit.ng had reported that the US dollar crashed against the Nigerian currency, the naira, on the crypto peer-to-peer platform, Binance.
Data from the platform showed that the dollar crashed at around 8 am on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, trading as low as N1,415 per dollar from the N1,606 per dollar it sold in the last 24 hours.
Some traders on the platform reportedly quoted above N1,500 per dollar as trading intensified.
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Source: Legit.ng
