Binance restricts 281 crypto-accounts owned by Nigerians amid fraud crackdown

Over 280 cryptocurrency accounts held by Nigerians on Binance, the world largest cryptocurrency platform, have been restricted, as part of International law enforcement crackdown on fraudulent activities.

During the week, Ripples Nigeria had reported that some Nigerians took to Twitter to protest through “#BinanceStopTheScam” hashtag, as they couldn’t access their accounts.

Some of the complainants said Binance had seized their fiat currency saved in their wallets by locking them out of their accounts, with most of them stating they’ve been denied access for more than three months.

In his response to the scam claim, Binance founder and chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao, said in a Website post on Saturday, that an international investigation caused the platform to restrict the accounts.

READ ALSO: Four reasons Binance can block your crypto account or restrict access to your money

According to his statement, 281 accounts belonging to Nigerians were affected, and 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement.

Ripples Nigeria had previously reported four reasons why Binance can block or lock accounts without prior notification to the users, and one of them includes restriction demand from law enforcement agency, as well as court.

Out of the number affected, it was gathered that 79 cases have been resolved. This comes after Binance requested users to fill a complaint form to rectify the issue.

Zhao said “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% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement.”

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