Binance CEO Richard Teng asked to attend Nigeria hearing

The Nigerian commission said Teng would be forced to invoke his constitutional rights if he ignored the subpoena again.

Binance is in trouble in Nigeria after reaching a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to local media reports, the Financial Crimes Committee of the Nigerian House of Representatives recently issued a final notice to Binance CEO Richard Teng.

Chairman Ginger Onwusibe asked Teng to attend the hearing before March 4. The summons was for alleged involvement in financial crimes including money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Onwusibe warned that if Teng failed to appear at the summons, the commission would have to invoke its constitutional powers and take appropriate measures.

Binance admitted to charges related to money laundering and financing of terrorism after a US plea agreement was approved by a judge. The exchange agreed to pay a historic fine of $4.3 billion and undergo strict supervision.

Binance is uncooperative with the Nigerian committee

Shortly after Binance agreed to a plea deal in the United States, the committee issued a letter requesting Binance’s managing director to attend a hearing on December 18. Binance was required to disclose its misconduct under Nigerian law to the committee.

Binance repeatedly declined invitations to address the Nigerian committee, causing dissatisfaction with the committee. The Nigerian Commission recently issued an ultimatum demanding a response from Binance as soon as possible. Onwusibe said:

“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria entrusts us with protecting Nigerian users from financial crime, especially from foreign companies...The allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering and tax evasion against Binance are shocking enough.”

Onwusibe said the committee was determined to combat financial crime and "block the channels that finance terrorist activities. No amount of interference or manipulation can stop us."

The commission is also trying to collect as much tax as possible as Nigeria slides into recession.

According to Onwusibe, Binance serves more than 10 million Nigerian users on its platform. However, the exchange does not pay any taxes in the country. At the same time, Binance does not have a physical presence in Nigeria for users to lodge complaints.

Onwusibe added:

"The era of exploitation is over and all criminals must be punished."

Binance’s woes in Nigeria are escalating

Last week, the country’s telecoms regulator, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), ordered telecoms companies to block access to the websites of foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.

According to a report by DLNews, on February 26, Nigeria’s national security agency detained two Binance executives and confiscated their passports in an investigation into Binance’s case.

According to the BBC, Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso said that Binance Nigeria witnessed “suspicious fund flows” in 2023.

He said: “As far as Binance is concerned, in the past year alone, US$26 billion has flowed out through Binance Nigeria, and some of the sources and users of the funds have not been fully identified by us.”

On Friday, the BBC reported that the Nigerian government had ordered Binance to pay $10 billion in compensation. The report also stated that the government believes that Binance and its executives have manipulated foreign exchange rates through currency speculation and currency manipulation.

In the same report, a Binance spokesperson said that while the exchange is in talks with the government to “resolve the issue,” it has not yet been told to pay the $10 billion fine. In the same report, special adviser Bayo Onanuga said his comments to the BBC were misinterpreted and that he never said the government had finalized the fine amount or that Binance knew about it.

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