Nigerian authorities demand $10 billion compensation from Binance – Kommersant

The Nigerian government has asked cryptocurrency exchange Binance to pay $10 billion in damages for manipulating the exchange rate of the national currency, the naira (NGN). The BBC reports this with reference to the Nigerian government.

According to the government, Binance influenced the rise of foreign exchange rates in Nigeria through speculation in the naira, causing the currency to fall nearly 70% over the past few months.

“The Binance platform employs people who fix the exchange rate, which is quickly impacting the Nigerian economy at a time when the country is trying to stabilize it,” said Bayo Onanuga, an adviser to the Nigerian president. He also added that Binance, like other cryptocurrency companies, is not registered under Nigerian laws. “We are asking for about $10 billion in compensation for damage that has almost ruined our economy in a very short time,” added the adviser to the Nigerian president.

According to the Financial Times, Binance executives who flew into the country following the authorities’ decision to ban several digital asset trading sites were detained by local law enforcement. An adviser to the President of Nigeria clarified that the company’s top managers are collaborating with the local government to “provide additional information.”

Presidential spokesman Zachary Mijinyawa said the exchange’s employees were under investigation and were being questioned as part of a security investigation into the regulation of the foreign exchange market.

In 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria lifted the ban on transactions with cryptocurrencies and announced the need to regulate the market. However, restrictions on trading and custody of digital assets for Nigerian banks are still in effect – they came into force back in February 2021.

Anastasia Larina