Nigerian regulators demand Binance hand over top 100 local users' data
Binance also faces a request to settle any outstanding tax liabilities.
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Tensions escalate between Binance and Nigerian regulators as the government makes a controversial request for data on the top 100 local users for the past six months.
According to a recent report from the Financial Times (FT), Nigerian regulators have demanded that Binance disclose the information and transaction history of the top 100 users in the country over the past 6 months. Apart from that, the office of Nigeria’s national security adviser wants the exchange to settle all unpaid tax debts.
The latest request comes amid ongoing negotiations between Binance and Nigerian regulators. However, Nigeria is yet to reveal any further decisions regarding their recent arrest of two Binance executives upon request.
Nigeria recently accused Binance of profiting from illegal crypto trading, which they alleged indirectly devalued the Nigerian currency, the naira. The government additionally blocked access to Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. Nigerian presidential advisor Bayo Onanuga told the FT that the government may impose a $10 billion compensation payment on Binance.
Tensions rose further when two Binance executives traveled to Abuja for talks after the fresh government crackdown. Tigran Gambaryan, Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Binance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, who leads the exchange in the African region, were detained by Nigerian authorities upon arrival on February 26. They were held for two weeks at a government guest house in Abuja.
Following the detention of its executives, Binance stopped supporting all services in Nigeria and delisted all trading pairs related to the naira.
Binance has yet to comment on Nigeria’s request for user data, while the Nigerian government remains tight-lipped on the executives’ release. Negotiations appear to be deadlocked at this point.
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