We Restricted Crypto Accounts Of 281 Nigerians To Prevent Fraud—Binance

Following last week’s outrage by some Nigerians about the restrictions placed on their cryptocurrency account by Binance, the company on Sunday said the action was taken to prevent fraud-related transactions.

Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, currently having the accounts of 281 Nigerian users.

THE WHISTLER had reported that the platform last week clamped down on accounts after it was accused of weak money laundering checks.

Some of the affected traders had lamented that their accounts have been blocked for months without being flagged.

The issue is not just peculiar to Nigerians as traders in other countries are currently affected.

But reacting to the development, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, said in a letter that 38 percent of the affected accounts were restricted at the request of international law enforcement.

In the letter titled, ‘A letter from our CEO to Nigerians: Our commitment to user protection’, Zhao said, “The Nigerian community is one that brings me great pride. Since the inception of Binance, Nigeria and Africa at large have been very special markets to us and for crypto. On hearing the concerns raised by the community, I decided to write to re-emphasize our commitment to you.

“First and foremost, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving your customer support requests. User security remains our top priority. We love and are devoted to our Nigerian community, but we must ensure that our users are safe.

“As such, protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented. This is a global approach applied in every country.

“Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38 per cent of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement.

“Regardless, we owe it to you, our users, to deliver the experience you deserve. Your trust in us is important — and here’s what we’re doing to rebuild that trust:

“Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks.”