Two Binance executives arrested in Nigeria following website ban

After multiple unconfirmed reports, the Financial Times has confirmed the arrest of two Binance executives in Nigeria this week.

Both executives flew to Nigeria last week following a ban on their website and were arrested by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the same report said.

In an anxious week for Nigeria’s crypto industry, regulators made significant changes, blocking access to the websites of several exchanges and pegging USDT/NGN exchange rates.

On Wednesday, several crypto exchanges barred users from buying the USDT and USDC stablecoins, TechCabal reported.

The Nigerian authorities have been silent on the arrest. A spokesperson of the NSA told TechCabal he knew nothing about the arrest and it was likely that the action was taken by other security outfits.

Olayemi Cardoso, the central bank governor, alluded to some actions by security agencies at the end of the monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and said those actions would soon be made public.

He also said the regulatory environment was about to get stricter, warning speculators about consequences.

Nigeria’s aggressive move against these crypto companies comes months after it reversed a long-standing ban that shut them out from banking services.

One Binance employee also told this publication that their office had warned them against wearing Binance merchandise or sharing of any identifiers of their employers.

*This is a developing story.