Nigeria ‘detains UK and US Binance executives’ in cryptocurrency clampdown

Nigeria’s Department of State Security detained at least two Binance employees on Monday night, Feb. 26, in Abuja in connection with investigations into the crypto exchange’s operations in the country.

Authorities have seized the passports of two Binance executives, an American and a British citizen.

According to Financial Times, the executives flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites last week but they were detained and their passports seized,

Officials did not provide details on why the Binance employees are being detained, and it remains unclear on whether they have been charged with any violations of Nigerian law. 

The incident comes as the Nigerian Communications Commission ordered internet service providers to block access to Binance, Kraken, Coinbase and other crypto exchange websites. That action came after Binance and other crypto exchanges were accused of aiding and abetting currency speculation and forex market manipulation from several segments of Nigeria’s government. 

Nigeria’s central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso on Tuesday, Feb. 27, said there were indications of illicit flow of funds through platforms like Binance. 

“In the case of Binance, in the last one year alone, $26 billion has passed through ‘Binance Nigeria’ from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” Cardoso said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have taken to the social media platform X to say that this action by Nigerian authorities would chase investors away.