Nigeria is actively seeking information from Binance on its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history for the past six months, according to a Financial Times. report.
This news overlaps with the revelation of the names of the two executives of the cryptocurrency exchange who were arrested two weeks ago: Tigran Gambaryan, head of investigations at Binance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, regional manager of the crypto platform for Africa, Wired reported. . reported today.
Last month, Gambaryan, who was a former US federal agent focused on cryptocurrencies, and Anjarwalla had their passports confiscated and were held in a government facility in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. His arrest is part of a broader Nigerian crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges, coinciding with questionable efforts by the government to revive the naira, the country’s national currency.
Before Gambaryan, a US citizen, and Anjarwalla, a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Kenya, were detained, both officials honored an invitation from the Nigerian government to discuss Binance’s operations and the restrictions it placed on cryptocurrency exchanges. According to Nigeria’s top bank, the country was losing taxes from unregistered crypto exchanges and accused Binance, which it says operates illegally, of facilitating “illicit flows from sources and users we cannot adequately identify” to the tune of $ 26 billion.
As a result, the detained executives could allegedly face charges related to currency manipulation, tax evasion and illegal operations, according to a Bloomberg report. However, both families report that neither individual has been formally charged with any criminal offense. FT says Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency was given permission to detain both Binance executives for 14 days, which ended on Tuesday; There is a proposed hearing to extend the court order scheduled for Wednesday.
Nigeria’s request to have top Binance users in the country is a focal point in negotiations between the largest crypto platform and the leading African crypto market. The period under review is critical because it corresponds with the Nigerian currency devaluation schedule. Meanwhile, documents reviewed by the FT reveal that Nigeria, through its national security advisor, has requested that Binance address any outstanding tax obligations.