Mohammed Shosanya
The Nigeria’s House of Representatives has threatened to issue warrant of arrest against Cryptocurrency giant, Binance, executives.
The Committee on Financial Crimes issued the threat on Monday during an investigative hearing in Abuja.
The House panel had summoned the Managing Director of Binance, Richard Teng, in a letter dated 12 December 2023, but failed to honour the invitation.
The House Panel had alleged that the company is involved into terrorism financing, money laundry, tax invasion and other crimes.
Binance Holdings Limited, operators of Digital Assets Exchange in Nigeria has been operating in Nigeria for over six years allegedly without adhering to the nation’s financial regulatory frameworks as well as facing allegations of financial exploitations of young Nigerians.
At the public hearing on Monday, Chairman, House Committee on Financial Crimes, Hon Obinna Ginger expressed worry over non-appearance of the Chief Executive of Binance Holding limited, Mr Richard Teng, after many invitations.
However, the company failed to show up, preferring to send legal representatives at the hearing; a development that infuriated the committee as it insisted on having interface with the executives of Binance Holding Limited.
On Monday, Mr Ginger while restating the resolve of the Committee to rid the country of financial crimes, said that “The committee will be forced to recommend to the House to arrest Binance executives since they have failed to appear before the committee.
“As long as the committee is concerned, Binance is not at this meeting because we have said it severally that we do not want representation by lawyers but the chief executives should appear before us. Binance is not here. We have taken a position on it in our last sitting that we are not going to entertain legal representation from Binance and that position stands.
“Based on the fact that Binance is not here, we need to make a recommendation to the House of Representatives for the House to invoke its powers of subpoena to issue a warrant for the leadership of Binance to be arrested and be brought to this Committee to answer questions of the grave allegations leveled against them in the petitions brought to us by the Empowerment for Unemployed Youths Initiatives and Niger Delta youths Council.
“This Committee has resolved to recommend to the House to invoke its constitutional powers by issuing a subpoena and a warrant for Binance executives to be arrested and brought to this Committee to answer these questions relationship financing of terrorism, money laundering and other financial crimes as stated in the petition including evasion of tax.
Earlier, counsel to Binance, Senator Ihenyen who was at the briefing pleaded with the committee to accord the company ample time to appear before it, noting that two top shots of Binance who arrived the country last week were arrested by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
“Following the arrest of two executive, other persons could not come into Nigeria because they are afraid of arrest too. Binance has responded appropriately to the demands of the committee and as our client, we are pleading that this honorable committee consider taking the report,” he pleaded.