Binance Restricts 281 Nigerian Accounts Citing Safety Measure
Binance has restricted the accounts over AML concerns. All non-law enforcement-related cases are expected to be resolved within two weeks
Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel
key takeaways
- Binance has restricted 281 Nigerian-based personal accounts
- Of those, around a third have been restricted at the request of international law enforcement.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume, has restricted 281 personal Nigerian accounts with more than a third being at the behest of law enforcement.
In a letter on Saturday, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said user security remained Binance’s “top priority” before citing that anti-money laundering measures and account restrictions were in place.
Around 79 other cases that were facing restrictions have been resolved while all non-law enforcement-related cases are expected to be resolved within two weeks. More Binance personnel are being deployed to expedite the matter CZ said.
Of the 281 accounts, 38% have been restricted at the request of international law enforcement, the letter said.
Last week, users began complaining of issues on Twitter revolving around Nigerian-based Binance accounts. #Binancestopscammingnigerians was seen trending before CZ responded with the letter.
In February of last year, Binance briefly suspended deposits in Nigerian naira following orders from the country central bank for local banks to close accounts linked to various cryptocurrency platforms.
Crypto is seen by many in the 190 million-strong population of Nigeria as a means to circumvent monetary controls and to serve the underbanked or unbanked. Crypto exchanges have, for quite a while, offered up a means to transact peer-to-peer at a time when more than half in the country are unbanked.
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