Two senior Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, have been detained by Nigerian authorities for the past two weeks, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Wired.
TLDR
- Two senior Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, have been detained by Nigerian authorities for the past two weeks.
- The executives were invited to Nigeria to discuss the ongoing dispute between Binance and the Nigerian government but were taken to a government-run guesthouse after their initial meeting.
- Nigeria has accused Binance of enabling $26 billion of untraceable funds to be processed in the nation and has demanded $10 billion in penalties.
- The families of the detained executives have expressed concern and frustration over the lack of information and uncertainty surrounding the situation.
- Binance has stated that they are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to secure the safe return of the executives.
Gambaryan, who serves as Binance’s head of financial crime compliance and is a U.S. citizen, and Anjarwalla, Binance’s Kenya-based regional manager for Africa holding dual citizenships of the U.K. and Kenya, were invited to Nigeria to discuss the ongoing dispute between the cryptocurrency exchange and the Nigerian government.
The executives arrived in Abuja on February 25 for the meeting but were subsequently taken to their hotels and then moved to a government-run guesthouse by Nigeria’s National Security Agency.
The detainment of the executives appears to be related to the accusations brought against Binance by Nigeria, which claims that the exchange has enabled $26 billion of untraceable funds to be processed in the nation.
As a result, the Nigerian government has demanded $10 billion in penalties from Binance.
The families of Gambaryan and Anjarwalla have expressed deep concern and frustration over the lack of information and uncertainty surrounding the situation.
Despite visits from a U.S. State Department official and a representative from the U.K. foreign office, the executives have not been able to communicate privately due to the presence of Nigerian government guards during these meetings.
Binance has declined to provide details regarding the accusations or demands made by the Nigerian government but has stated that they are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to secure the safe return of the executives.
The company has emphasized the professionalism and integrity of Gambaryan and Anjarwalla and expressed hope for a swift resolution to the matter.
The detention of Gambaryan, a former U.S. federal agent specializing in cryptocurrency-related investigations, is particularly ironic given his reputation and expertise in the field.
