A Nigerian court has ordered Binance to provide Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information on all persons from the nation trading on its platform, according to a report by the local news outlet Peoples Gazette.
The interim order comes after an earlier report that Nigeria had asked the crypto exchange to hand over the information regarding its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history spanning the past six months. But Justice Emeka Nwite from the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court appears to have granted the motion of EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho which sought information on any Nigerian trading on Binance.
The EFCC is Nigeria’s law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes.
“The applicant’s application dated and filed February 29, 2024, is hereby granted as prayed. That an order of this honorable court is hereby made directing the operators of Binance to provide the commission with comprehensive data/information relating to all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform,” the judge ordered, the report said.
Nigerian authorities also detained two of Binance’s senior executives after inviting them into the country to discuss the matter. The court hearing of the two detained Binance executives is scheduled for Wednesday, Reuters reported. Nigerian authorities have also proposed a 400% increase in registration fees for crypto firms.
Binance and the EFCC did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
