The federal government through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has recently detained two executives of Binance Holdings Ltd—one of the leading cryptocurrency exchange companies in the world.
The executives were intercepted on arriving in Nigeria following the ban on the operation of their website in the country. One of the grounds for their arrest is that Binance operates illegally in Nigeria.
On Wednesday, Dr Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said more than $26 billion was funnelled through the cryptocurrency platform, Binance in one year.
The arrest came amidst efforts by the government to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Recently, the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission effected the blocking of Binance’s online platforms and other crypto firms operating in the country to avert further manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds in and out of the economy.
Countries where Binance has been banned
Nigeria is not the first country to ban Binance operations in its financial system. The list of where the ban has been effected includes the United States, United Kingdom, Canada Japan, etc.
In the U.S., Binance’s main platform isn’t available to American users due to U.S. regulatory constraints. The company designed and launched a separate platform, called Binance.US to align with the country’s regulatory standards and laws. Amongst other restrictions imposed by the U.S. Government included a temporary halt on U.S. dollar withdrawals and deposits which followed a court asset freeze request by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC also initiated legal action against Binance and its U.S. operations, citing multiple charges, including inflated trading volumes and misuse of customer funds.
In the UK, the cryptocurrency company has been prohibited from operating by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). “Binance Markets Limited is not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK. This firm is part of a wider Group (Binance Group),” the UK government said.
“Due to the imposition of requirements by the FCA, Binance Markets Limited is not currently permitted to undertake any regulated activities without the prior written consent of the FCA.
“No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK.”
Also in Japan, the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has issued a notice to Binance for operating without the necessary regulatory approval.
The Canadian Government has suspended Binance services after the company failed to meet the province’s securities regulation criteria. Binance announced its exit from the country in May 2023, according to Reuters.
Lastly, the Singaporean Government through its Monetary Authority said the company’s services are not accessible to Singaporean investors due to regulatory constraints.
