Nigerian House Of Representatives Committee Summons Binance CEO Regarding Alleged Financing Of Terrorism And Money Laundering

Chairman of the Nigerian House of Representatives committee, Ginger Onwusibe (photo: x @ggingeroonwusibe)

JAKARTA - Nigeria's House of Representatives (DPR) Committee on Financial Crimes has summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng to appear before the committee on suspicion of financing terrorism and money laundering.

According to a local news source, Punch, committee chairman Ginger Onwusibe, issued an ultimatum to Binance's management on March 1 to appear before the committee on or before March 4, 2024.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) expressed concern on February 27 about Binance, accusing the exchange of "suspicious flow of funds" in 2023.

Onwusibe warned that if Binance ignored the call, the committee would exercise its constitutional authority and take the necessary action. According to Punch, in a letter dated December 12, 2023, signed by Onwusibe, the committee asked Teng to appear before the hearing on December 18, 2023.

Onwusibe expressed his disappointment with Teng for not attending even though he had been invited several times. Onwusibe stressed that this is related to the total negligence of the law governing the country's business and financial operations.

Onwusibe affirmed the committee's commitment to fighting financial crime, stressing that the constitution gives them the power to protect Nigerians from financial crimes, particularly those involving foreign companies.

The National Security Advisory Office has also reportedly detained two senior Binance officials in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, as the government seeks to crack down on crypto exchanges to curb speculation about its fiat currency, naira Nigeria. Binance removed naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) service on Wednesday, February 28, in an attempt to crack down on the crypto exchange.

The P2P feature allows users, buyers and sellers to trade without involving third parties. It became popular in Nigeria in 2021 after the government banned the growing crypto industry during the administration of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari earlier.

However, in December 2023, CBN lifted a two-year ban on banks conducting crypto transactions and issued guidelines for regulating virtual asset service providers simultaneously. Nigeria is the second country to launch a central bank digital currency in 2022. In February, the African Stablecoin Consortium also launched a stablecoin cNGN holding on to naira in a CBN regulation sand.