Following the detention of two Binance executives, the Nigerian government has levied a hefty $10 billion fine on the popular crypto exchange for its alleged involvement in illicit transactions within Nigeria. This penalty is supposed to serve as retribution from Binance amidst a crackdown on the crypto platform, aimed at stabilizing the nation's local currency.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday morning, Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, disclosed the details of this punitive measure. According to Onanuga, Binance has derived substantial profit from its questionable activities in Nigeria, causing significant financial losses for the nation.

During Tuesday's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso revealed that Binance had received $26 billion from unidentified sources.

"We are concerned that certain practices indicate illicit flow through a number of entities and suspicious flows at best. In the case of Binance, 26 billion US Dollars has passed through Binance Nigeria from unidentified sources and users. Current collaborations between agencies like EFCC, police, and the Office of the NSA are addressing the situation,” the country’s apex bank governor said.

The presidential spokesman reflects the views prevalent in Nigeria's ruling circles regarding the impact of cryptocurrency on the country. “Crypto should be banned in our country, or else this continuous devaluation of our currency will persist,” stated Onanuga in an interview with Bloomberg last week.

The recent penalty signifies the latest wave of regulatory crackdowns on crypto companies by the Nigerian government in recent weeks. Just last week, an order was issued for telecommunication companies and other internet service providers in the West African nation to block access to cryptocurrency trading platforms like Binance, Coinbase, and OctaFX. Consequently, local crypto exchanges decided to suspend the purchase of USDT and USDC stablecoins using Naira. On Wednesday, Binance deactivated its peer-to-peer (P2P) market function on its mobile app for the Nigerian Naira.

Image Source: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic