Photos: STRF/STAR MAX/IPx / Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
Nigerian customers of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange took to Twitter with the hashtag #BinanceStopScamming to complain about arbitrary account closures and lack of responsiveness from the platform.
Investors said that Binance blocked their accounts without any explanation and that they have been experiencing issues with the exchange since 2020, according to Nairametrics.
Twitter has been banned by the Nigerian government since June 5, 2021, and was only reinstated on Jan. 13, 2022.
Twitter users shared screenshots of Binance customer care citing security and risk control as reasons for blocking accounts.
Binance was banned in the U.S. in 2019 and started doing business as Binance.US, an American partner. It is not fully available in the U.S.
“It’s been good 13 months now that Binance held my fund. I was told to contact a lasvegas FBI which I did. And the FBI concluded that I shouldn’t negotiate my acct is gone,” tweeted Adeosun@YemsonYemmy.
“It’s been 10 months now that Binance held my hard earned crypto, I have reached out to customer care severally, till now I have not been given any tangible reason for this act,” tweeted Ama Judy @AmaJudy.
Another user, King_Young-joe@JoshuaNwogodo, posted the response he got from Binance customer care on Twitter and said it was silly.
“A Nigerian trader who had his entire assets on Binance nearly committed suicide because of this. I have $400,000+ in my disabled account. They’ve been targeting Nigerians and Africans as a whole. Please save us from Binance,” tweeted Cynthia chidera@Cyndera7.
In an announcement posted on its Twitter page, Binance acknowledged the complaints and assured swift solutions would be provided.
“User security remains our top priority. If you are still experiencing issues with accessing your account, please fill out this form,” Binance tweeted.
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao repeatedly said in public that he welcomes regulatory oversight and the crypto exchange brags about its anti-money laundering program.
“Binance helps all law enforcement agencies worldwide with their cases. We get many thank you letters,” Zhao said in a tweet.
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Binance has been under investigation by the U.S. government for tax fraud and money laundering.
An investigative report by Reuters found that Binance know-your-customer (KYC) policies are still lacking, and the company has been uncooperative with KYC authorities.
A Binance spokesperson told Fortune that there has always been user protection for Binance customers and that the exchange has recruited one of the “most seasoned digital forensic teams” to work with regulators and law enforcement agencies.
Photos: STRF/STAR MAX/IPx / Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
