Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has restricted 281 Nigerian accounts.

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has restricted 281 Nigerian accounts, some of which have been requested by international law enforcement.

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has suspended 281 Nigerian accounts. CEO Changpeng Zhao noted that "about 38 percent of these situations [are] prohibited at the request of international law enforcement," citing user security and fraud protection.

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has written a letter to its Nigerian users. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) apologized in the letter for the inconvenience caused by the time it took to resolve customer support queries.

"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 fraudulent activity is prevented," Zhao explained, noting that "user security" remains his exchange's top priority. This is a global strategy that is being implemented in every country." The CEO continued, "

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.

Zhao went on to describe how Binance is working to restore trust in the Nigerian community.

To begin, he stated that Binance is "ensuring quick resolves of ongoing user cases connected to account limits," adding: 

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

"Devoting additional customer service personnel to the region" is another area that is being addressed. "We will dedicate additional CS and risk agents with a strong awareness of the Nigerian business," Zhao stated.

Some Nigerian Binance users recently initiated a boycott campaign against the platform after their accounts were frozen. "From time to time, we proactively limit accounts to protect the cash of our users. On occasion, we are forced to limit accounts in response to a law enforcement request. "However, we will never block accounts unless there is a compelling reason," Binance stated last week.

Pakistan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and Lithuania are among the countries investigating the cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance stated in August that regulatory compliance is a primary goal for the company. As it transitions from a technology company to a financial services company, the corporation is shifting from a decentralized to a centralized corporate model.