Bayo Onanuga, an advisor to the Nigerian president, has stated that no definitive decision has been reached regarding a fine on the cryptocurrency exchange.

A representative of the Nigerian government has refuted claims of a $10 billion fine imposed on the crypto exchange Binance. Bayo Onanuga, serving as a special advisor to the Nigerian president on information and strategy, has asserted that the allegations reported by the BBC stem from a misquotation.

As per the People's Gazette, a local news outlet, Onanuga clarified his statement, asserting that his words were misrepresented. He insists that there has been no conclusive decision regarding a fine for Binance. Onanuga clarified that he did not affirm that Binance had been notified about any fines, nor did he specify an amount of $10 billion. He merely acknowledged the potential for a fine, emphasizing that nothing has been finalized.

Regarding the purported $10 billion penalty on Binance, the Peoples Gazette noted that Binance has not been informed and remains unaware. Allegedly, the cryptocurrency exchange has expressed reluctance to engage in discussions regarding fines with the Nigerian government.

This statement arrives amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny faced by crypto exchanges in Nigeria. Several platforms have recently been banned to protect the country's national currency, the Nigerian naira. On Wednesday, February 28, Binance removed the naira from its peer-to-peer (P2P) service amidst this crackdown.

The P2P feature enables users to trade directly without involving intermediaries and gained popularity in Nigeria in 2021 following the government's ban on its flourishing crypto industry during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Binance has come under heightened scrutiny in Nigeria, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) expressing concerns about "suspicious flows" of funds through the exchange's Nigerian arm in 2023. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso highlighted that $26 billion had flowed through Nigeria via Binance in 2023 from unidentified sources and users.

Reportedly, the National Security Adviser's office has detained two senior Binance officials in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, as the nation seeks to curb cryptocurrency exchanges to mitigate speculation about the naira.

In December 2023, the CBN lifted a two-year ban on banks engaging in crypto transactions and issued guidelines for regulating virtual asset service providers simultaneously.

Nigeria was the second country to launch a central bank digital currency in 2022. Additionally, the Africa Stablecoin Consortium introduced the naira-pegged cNGN stablecoin in a CBN regulator sandbox in February.