FG Hit Binance with $10 billion Fine Amid Crackdown on Crypto Firms

The Federal Government has imposed a hefty $10 billion fine on Binance as part of its ongoing crackdown on crypto firms in Nigeria.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, revealed this in an interview with the BBC on Friday, March 1, 2024.

The government’s action against Binance is aimed at stabilizing the value of the naira amid concerns that the crypto exchange platform has been used to arbitrarily set dollar-naira rates, negatively impacting the currency’s value.

Onanuga emphasized that Binance has profited significantly from what he termed “illegal transactions” in Nigeria, causing substantial losses to the nation.

According to Onanuga, Binance is not registered in Nigeria and has no official presence in the country. He however said the Binance team is cooperating with the Nigerian government by providing useful information and has already suspended naira-related transactions on its platform.

Despite the cooperation, the Federal Government is demanding retribution and has set a fine of at least $10 billion for Binance, Onanuga stated.

It is worth mentioning that the government recently took similar actions against other crypto exchange platforms, such as OctaFX, Crypto, FXTM, Coinbase, and Kraken, to prevent the manipulation of the forex market and illicit fund movements. As a result of the ban, two executives of Binance were detained when they reportedly came to Nigeria for negotiations with the authorities regarding the crackdown on their platform.