- Binance CEO Richard Teng condemned Nigeria's actions, defending Gambaryan's innocence.
- He says this action by the Nigerian government has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.
In February, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance's regional manager for Africa, was detained alongside Tigran Gambaryan, Binance's head of financial crime compliance, after they entered the country to meet Nigerian authorities over Binance-related issues.
While Anjarwalla managed to fly out of Nigeria on March 22, Gambaryan was ordered to be held in a secured location in Abuja.
Currently, the whole “Binance vs. Nigeria” is getting escalated to a whole different level.
According to a report, during an April 30 interview on the local Sunrise Daily program, Garba Umar, head of the Nigerian NCB, stated that the organization is collaborating with various governments to issue a Red Notice against Anjarwalla. They are also preparing necessary treaties, a memorandum of understanding, and other documentation to facilitate his extradition to Nigeria for trial.
Additionally, in the latest development, Binance has published a new blog post, titled “From Richard Teng, Binance CEO: Tigran Gambaryan is Innocent and Must Be Released,” issuing a detailed account of Tigran Gambaryan’s ongoing detention on May 7.
In the post, Teng has condemned the Nigerian government for its actions, as Gambaryan continues to be held in Nigeria for more than 70 days.
He further states:
“There has been much public commentary on this episode, and I wanted to take this opportunity to provide the facts so that the global community’s perception may not be distorted unfairly. I also feel that it’s time to speak out about this issue on behalf of the global business community. To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”
Furthermore, Teng also goes on to shed light on Gambaryan’s role in Binance. Teng points out that in his role as the head of Binance's Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team, Gambaryan has been a vocal advocate for the company to create policies and establish compliance capabilities that set new benchmarks in the industry.
“In 2022 and 2023, Tigran’s Financial Crime Compliance team assisted global law enforcement in freezing and seizing more than $2.2B worth of assets, including more than $285M in cooperation with United States agencies like the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and others,” Teng added.
The Binance CEO also noted that Gambaryan's role in Nigeria did not involve decision-making or negotiation. He was primarily a specialist in financial crime and capacity building, contributing to policy discussions.
Now, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what Richard Teng has written in the post.
He’s also talked in detail about various other things that have happened between Binance and Nigeria. For instance, Teng alleges that unknown persons approached the Binance’s employees and suggested making a payment in settlement of the allegations.
“Counsel reported back that he had been presented with a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away and that our decision was expected by the morning,” wrote Teng.
Additionally, after several weeks in detention, Gambaryan’s wife and others have called for his release. Gambaryan’s wife launched a petition to bring him back to the United States, which had 4,161 signatures at the time of writing. Gambaryan’s next bail hearing is scheduled for May 17.
Furthermore, following weeks of detention, Gambaryan's wife and supporters have urged for his release. She initiated a petition with 4,161 signatures to bring him back to the US. His next bail hearing is set for May 17.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
