Binance Dispute in Nigeria
Tigran Gambaryan, an executive from cryptocurrency firm Binance, along with his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, pleaded not guilty in Nigerian court to money laundering charges.
Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen, and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national, were arrested in February this year. The reason behind their detention was due to Nigeria’s economic turmoil, with Binance being accused of being a catalyst for it.
Mr. Anjarwalla escaped custody two weeks ago and there is no information regarding his whereabouts. Following this event, On Monday five counts of money laundering were filed against Mr. Gambaryan which he rejected. The decisions were taken by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes and Commission (EFCC).
A Binance spokesperson stated that the charges pressed against Mr. Gambaryan were “meritless”. They mentioned the BBC: “We are deeply disappointed that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, continues to be detained.”
After Monday’s hearing a statement was released by Mr. Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, said: “I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers… it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.”
What is the EFCC Doing?
The EFCC accused Binance, one of Nigeria’s top cryptocurrency platforms, alongside Mr. Gambaryan and Mr. Anjarwalla, of laundering $35.4m (£28m).
In February, Mr. Gambaryan, responsible for financial crime compliance at Binance, and Mr. Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa Regional Manager, were detained upon arrival in Nigeria for meetings regarding the platform’s local operations.
Later that week, Binance was fined $10bn (£8bn) and accused of currency speculation and exchange rate fixing, contributing to the naira’s decline. The weakening naira, coupled with food inflation and rising living costs, triggered Nigeria’s economic crisis.
Nigeria’s authorities are not solely targeting Binance; they’re cracking down on cryptocurrency platforms overall, citing money laundering and terrorism financing concerns. Apart from money laundering charges, Binance and its executives face four tax evasion counts filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
When Mr. Anjarwalla left the country, Nigerian authorities made a claim tat he had escaped with a “smuggled passport”, but his family members has mentioned to a source that he had left the country “by lawful means”.
Nigeria stated that it was “working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect”.
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