Nigeria has detained multiple Binance executives following a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. According to reports, two senior executives at Binance were detained by authorities in the country on Wednesday.
According to sources familiar with the executives, the executives flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban cryptocurrency trading platforms last week. However, they were detained by the office of Nigeria’s national security adviser shortly after arriving. Furthermore, they had their passports confiscated, therefore they could not leave.
Nigeria has begun a hard crackdown on cryptocurrency and exchanges in the country. The ban is to help prevent the trade of an alternative to alter the price of its native naira currency. The naira has suffered from devaluation, leading to inflation as high as it has been in Nigeria in 30 years.
Also Read: Coinbase Crashes Following Bitcoin Pump
Nigerian Central Bank Governor Discusses Binance Ban
After discovering that their executives were detained, Binance also halted trading of the Nigerian currency against Bitcoin and Tether. Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, Nigeria’s central bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, specifically named Binance when addressing the cryptocurrency exchange ban.
Also Read: Cryptocurrency: 3 Coins Deliver Double-Digit Gains After Bitcoin Hit $56,000
“We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities [crypto platforms] and suspicious flows at best,” Cardoso said to the press. He adds, “In the case of Binance, in the last year alone, $26bn has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify.”
Cardoso also explained to reporters how Nigerian authorities were investigating these exchanges. According to sources with knowledge of the investigation, authorities demanded Binance share a list of the exchange’s known Nigerian users since it was established. Binance has yet to comment on the detainment of its executives.