Binance CEO Richard Teng Summoned in Nigeria on Financial Crimes Charges

Nigeria’s Financial Crimes Commission has summoned Binance CEO Richard Teng on charges of money laundering and terrorist financing, local newspaper Punch reported.

House Financial Crimes Committee Chairman Ginger Onwusibe issued an ultimatum for Tong to appear before the committee on or before March 5, Punch said.

Failure to implement the ultimatum would force the commission to take further action, Onwusibe said.

The central bank governor raised concerns about the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange on February 27, noting suspicious movements of funds through its trading platform last year.

⚡️💰 The Nigerian House of Representatives Financial Crimes Committee has been subpoenaed. #Binance CEO Richard Teng is suspected of terrorist financing and money laundering.

Teng must appear before the committee by March 4, 2024. pic.twitter.com/poh541tw00

— MrPersonalTrader (@MPersonalTrader) March 3, 2024

According to local media reports, Teng had been summoned several times before, but he did not heed the calls. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission made headlines in June last year when it declared exchange operations illegal.

And in a December 12 letter, the committee subpoenaed Binance’s managing director for a hearing held six days later without public access.

Binance Accused of Contributing to NGN Value Decline

Premium Times and the BBC reported that Binance was “also accused of operating a business worth billions of dollars without the required registration and documentation.”

Authorities say ‘illegal trading’ on cryptocurrency exchanges led to the devaluation of Nigeria’s national currency, the Nigerian Naira.

Local media cited officials as saying Binance is cooperating with inquiries, sharing valuable information and halting transactions involving the naira on its platform. Binance users in Nigeria are currently unable to access the peer-to-peer (P2P) service.

Nigeria strengthens fight against financial crime

“Measures are being taken to protect the country’s finances, especially now that the country is slipping into recession,” Onwusibe said.

The commission accused Binance of operating with more than 10 million Nigerian customers without paying taxes or having an office in Nigeria to handle complaints.

Previous reports that the government would impose a $10 billion fine on Binance were rejected by the Nigerian President’s Special Adviser on Intelligence and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The exchange also said it had no discussions with officials about such fines, according to the People’s Gazette.

Also read:

A new cryptocurrency mining platform – Bitcoin Minetrix

• Thanks to Coinsult
• Decentralized, secure cloud mining
• Get free Bitcoin every day
• Native token currently in pre-sale – BTCMTX
• Staking Rewards – APY 50% or more