The ongoing dispute between Nigeria and cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance escalated after the country demanded detailed information from the exchange, including the identities of its top 100 users and their transaction history covering the last six months.
Binance-Nigeria Dispute Intensifies: Nigeria Demands Top 100 User List and Transaction History
This development was reported by the Financial Times and shed light on the latest twist in the contentious relationship between the two organisations.
The request from Nigeria coincides with the prolonged detention of Binance's head of compliance Tigran Gambaryan and Africa regional manager Nadeem Anjarwalla, which has been going on for three weeks.
The executives were first detained upon their arrival in Abuja on February 25, at the invitation of the Nigerian government. However, their detention attracted public attention on February 29, and their titles and names were announced a short time ago.
It is claimed that untraceable funds worth $26 billion are at the center of the dispute between Nigeria and Binance.
The Nigerian government sees Binance as a major factor undermining efforts to stabilize the national currency, the Naira.
In addition, Nigeria has been pressuring Binance to settle its outstanding tax obligations, particularly as Binance has removed the naira from trading options on its platform.
*This is not investment advice.