The Federal Government has reportedly asked cryptocurrency trading firm, Binance, for information on its top 100 users in Nigeria.
News360 Info gathered that the government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), made the request to establish the negotiations between Binance and Nigeria.
According to the Financial Times, the Nigerian government also asked the cryptocurrency firm to submit all transaction history in the country for the past six months.
Also, the government is asking Binance to resolve any outstanding tax liabilities in the country before the release of its detained executives.
“Nigeria is pressing Binance for information on its top 100 users in the country, as well as all transaction history for the past six months,” the report said.
The reported request comes as two Binance officials, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and British-Kenyan Nadeem Anjarwalla, languish in detention two weeks after Nigerian authorities arrested them.
In a chat with Peoples Gazette on Wednesday, a official of Binance declined to comment on the request, saying that it would violate users’ privacy.
The official said, “It is inappropriate for us to comment on the substance of the claims at this time.
We can say that we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to bring Nadeem and Tigran back home safely to their families.”
Recall that the Federal Government clamped down on Binance for allegedly undermining its efforts to stabilise the naira and arrested three executives of the firm.
In a television interview, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Binance and other crypto platforms should be prohibited from operating in Nigeria.
He alleged that Binance was “blatantly setting exchange rate for Nigeria,” and hijacking the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Following Onanuga’s statement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said $26 billion passed through Binance from unidentified sources.
Cardoso said the apex bank, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and security agencies were working together to prevent manipulation in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
