Binance has requested the release of Tigran Gambaryan, its executive who was detained by the Nigerian government. The request was made after Nigeria charged the crypto exchange with tax evasion, although Tigran was detained weeks before.
According to the crypto giant, Tigran Gambaryan does not have decision-making authority in the exchange.
Tigran, who is a former US agent, has no decision-making authority in Binance and should not be detained while discussions are ongoing between Binance and the Nigerian Government
Binance to the NIgerian Government
Tigran, and Binance’s regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained on February 26, 2024, shortly after arriving in Nigeria to rectify its website’s restricted access in the country.
However, according to the Nigerian National Security Adviser (NSA), Anjarwalla escaped from the country with a smuggled passport.
Both executives have filed a human rights violation suit at the Federal High Court of Nigeria. The suit is requesting that the NSA and, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), release them, return their passports, and issue a public apology.
Gambaryan was hired in 2021 to lead the Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance (FCC), to fix the Crypto exchange’s complaint issues. In the past, he worked with Nigerian law enforcement, providing information to assist in tackling fraudulent activities of over $400,000 in transactions.
Also, Gambaryan’s team organized several training sessions for Nigerian law enforcement over the past few years. The training sessions were dedicated to educating the agency on the role of exchanges in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
This week marks Gambaryan’s fifth week in detention by Nigerian law enforcement. Meanwhile, the government is seeking an international arrest warrant for the arrest of Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Executive on the loose.