An official from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that Binance is operating illegally in several ways in the West African country. The development comes amid the ongoing legal case against the major cryptocurrency exchange in Nigeria.
Binance Violated Naira Trading Policy – CBN Official
In April 2024, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) launched legal action against Binance and its CEO Tigray Gambaryan, accusing both parties of tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering of approximately $34.4 million.
After an adjournment in June, court proceedings in the case resumed on Friday with the prosecutor presenting as a witness Dr Olubukola Akinwunmi, Head of Payments Policy and Regulation Division at the CBN.
According to a local media report NairametricsAkinwunmi said Binance violated Nigerian laws by providing deposit and withdrawal services, an activity restricted to registered banks and financial institutions under the strict supervision of the CBN.
Additionally, Akinwunmi also commented on Binance’s peer-to-peer feature that allows users to exchange Nigerian naira for US dollar-denominated assets. The CBN official said the cryptocurrency exchange platform needed a license from Apex Bank as an “authorized dealer” or “currency exchange” to be able to offer such services in Nigeria. Akinwunmi also criticized the anonymous nature that protected the identity of users, thus violating some Nigerian laws.
It is worth noting that Binance enforces a mandatory customer identification process for all users of its P2P service and other trading features. However, in May, Binance, alongside others Exchangeshave disabled their naira P2P services following allegations of currency speculation leading to rapid devaluation of the naira.
After considering the evidence of the witnesses, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that the case be further adjourned to July 16 to enable the defendants’ lawyers cross-examine them.
Gambaryan’s health becomes a major problem
In other news, Gambaryan’s health has become a major issue in court, with Judge Nwite on Friday demanding that the National Correctional Service produce a medical report of the detained Binance executive.
The Nigerian judge warned that medical service providers at the prison would be summoned to court if the directive was not complied with. Gambaryan has been detained at Kuje Prison, Abuja, since April and has reportedly been suffering from pneumonia and malaria since then, prompting investigations into his health.
Featured image from Pulse Nigeria, chart from Tradingview
