In the words of Binance CEO Richard Teng, “This ordeal has been deeply distressing for Tigran, his family and friends, as well as the entire Binance community. We continue to do anything and everything we can to support Tigran. This support is unwavering.”
Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance, has made a public plea to the Nigerian government, calling for the release of Tigran Gambaryan, head of the crypto exchange's Financial Crime Compliance team.
Earlier, on Feb 25, Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla had flown to Nigeria’s capital city Abuja to crypto regulations and compliance requirements with Nigerian authorities. However, they were detained soon after the meetings. The situation escalated further when Gambaryan was reportedly approached by "unknown persons," who demanded a substantial bribe, which Binance declined through its legal counsel.
Although Anjarwalla managed to escape custody, Gambaryan has been detained by Nigerian authorities for over 70 days, and is now facing money laundering charges. The detention has sparked major outrage from Binance and the crypto firm, with Gambaryan and Anjarwalla filing a lawsuit against Nigerian authorities for violating human rights.
In a recent blog post, Teng condemned the detention. According to him, inviting company representatives for collaborative meetings, only to detain them, sets a "dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide."
The executives' detention came amidst escalating tensions between Binance and Nigerian authorities. Earlier, Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission accused Binance of various financial irregularities, including manipulating the local exchange rate, tax evasion, and money laundering. Binance has repeatedly sought clarification from Nigerian authorities regarding the allegations, though the exchange has received no response from the officials.
