Nigeria wants Binance to share information on its top 100 users and all transaction history for the past six months.
According to a report from the Financial Times, the government also wants the cryptocurrency exchange to settle any outstanding tax obligations, after it recently stopped offering services in naira.
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The country recently detained two Binance executives, and a Wired report on Tuesday identified them as Tigran Gambaryan, a former US federal agent leading Binance’s criminal investigations team, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the exchange’s regional manager for Africa based in Kenya.
Nigerian authorities blame Binance for aiding speculative activities that have contributed to the depreciation of the naira. Since February, the government has cracked down on cryptocurrency exchanges, restricting access to their websites and recently threatened fines.
However, Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser on information and strategy, recently assured that Binance is cooperating with the government, a position the exchange has reiterated in earlier communications with its users.
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In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Onanuga justified the government’s actions, stating, “If we don’t clamp down on Binance, they will destroy the economy of this country. They just fix the rate.”
