The two Binance officials who were detained by the Nigerian government in its ongoing crackdown on the cryptocurrencies exchange are yet to be charged with any crime, two weeks since they arrived in Nigeria.
Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Head of Financial-Crime Compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a U.K. and Kenyan national and Binance’s Regional Manager for Africa, are being held in a guarded house with restrictions, such as how many times they can speak to their families.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Gambaryan, 39 years old, and Anjarwalla, 37, landed in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on February 25 2024, at the invitation of government officials who requested a series of meetings.
“The next day, the two sat with officials from Nigeria’s central bank, securities regulator, national-security arm and financial-intelligence arm. The meeting lasted about two hours and left Gambaryan and Anjarwalla feeling progress had been made,” their families said.
“Instead, the two Binance employees were escorted back to their hotel and asked to pack their belongings and were taken to a guarded house. No reason was given.”
While not publicised, a Nigerian court issued an order on February 28 2024 allowing the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC Nigeria) to detain the men for two weeks pending an investigation.
During its month-long pursuit of Binance, authorities have blamed the platform for a rising exchange rate while also accusing it of benefitting from ‘illegal transactions.’ The government reportedly imposed a $10 billion fine on the company, according to a presidential aide.
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‘I Said Our Government May Impose Heavy Fines on #Binance . . . I Never Said it Would Definitely Be $10 Billion,’ Says Nigerian Government Official“Binance platform harbors people who fix the exchange rate which quickly affects the Nigerian economy for the time when… pic.twitter.com/WDf42PUgwN
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 2, 2024
The crypto exchange, which has since ended its Naira services, is standing by its officials saying it remains in touch with the Nigerian government over their release.
In an exclusive to BitKE, a Binance spokesperson said:
“While it is inappropriate for us to comment on the substance of the claims at this time, we can say that we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to bring Nadeem and Tigran back home safely to their families. They are professionals with the highest integrity, and we will provide them all the support we can. We trust there will be a swift resolution to this matter.”
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