Abdulkadir Abbas, a director at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), has revealed how cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance Holding Limited, used its Naira peer-to-peer (P2P) virtual feature to devalue the Nigerian currency.
While talking to Justice Emeka Nwite, Abbas, who identified himself as Director of Exchanges and Market Infrastructure (SEC), said the Naira P2P feature deployed by Binance and the number of people on the platform negatively affected the official exchange rate.
Led in evidence by counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ekele Iheanacho, Abbas said Binance operated a trading platform that was not registered or regulated by the commission and that breached the extant provision of relevant laws in Nigeria
He added that Binance engaged in public solicitation of Nigerians without approval by SEC.
Abbas said: “The first defendant (Binance) operates a Naira Peer-to-Peer transaction in exchange for the crypto asset.
“As a matter of fact, the Binance platform became a reference point for determining the exchange rate.”
He said the Binance model invariably caused uncertainty and Nigeria’s exchange values were raised arbitrarily on the platform, which impacted negatively on the country’s financial system stability.
He said: “The Naira P2P deployed on the Binance website affects the values of our Naira.
“This is one serious concern raised at the meeting we had at the office of the National Security Adviser.”
While talking about the relationship between the rates on the Binance platform and the official exchange rate, Abbas said the Naira P2P rate was not guided by any fundamental principles.
He said: “It reached a stage where if one wants to exchange the US dollars, Nigerians will go to the Binance platform for a rate that does not correlate with Nigeria’s official rate.”