Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance, has been invited to appear before the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes due to allegations of money laundering and terrorism financing.Punch, a local news source, reports that Ginger Onwusibe, the chair of the committee, gave the Binance management until March 1 to come before the committee by March 4, 2024, at the latest.On February 27, the governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN) expressed worries regarding Binance, citing “suspicious flows” of funds through the exchange in 2023.
Onwusibe issued a warning, stating that the committee would use its constitutional authority and take appropriate action if Binance disregarded the summons.In a letter dated December 12, 2023, and signed by Onwusibe, Punch claims that the committee requested that Teng show up for a hearing on December 18, 2023.
Onwusibe voiced his disappointment in Teng for declining several offers to attend.Onwusibe underlined that it has to do with the regulations that currently regulate the nation’s financial and corporate operations being completely disregarded.Reiterating the committee’s resolve to fight financial crimes, Onwusibe emphasized that they are empowered by the constitution to protect Nigerians against financial crimes, especially those involving foreign corporations.
In an effort to quell speculation over the country’s fiat currency, the Nigerian naira, the National Security Adviser’s office is also said to have detained two senior Binance officials in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.Amid an ongoing crackdown on the cryptocurrency exchange, Binance suspended the naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) service on Wednesday, February 28.Users can transact without the involvement of a third party by using the P2P capability.Under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, it gained popularity in Nigeria in 2021 as a result of the government’s prohibition on the country’s booming cryptocurrency business.
But in December 2023, the CBN simultaneously released regulations for virtual asset service providers and repealed a two-year restriction on banks doing cryptocurrency transactions.In 2022, Nigeria became the second nation to introduce a digital currency issued by its central bank.The cNGN stablecoin, pegged to the naira, was also introduced by the Africa Stablecoin Consortium in February under a CBN regulator sandbox.