Nigeria’s detainment of Binance: One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, has had its CEO severely chastise Nigeria for its recent moves, saying that the nation is setting a worrying precedent.
Binance CEO Richard Teng has spoken out against the detention of two Nigerian executives by the country as part of a larger crackdown on cryptocurrency.
Both Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla are currently on trial for distinct charges related to tax evasion and money laundering. Binance is strongly rejecting these claims, as Teng has made clear.
Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan regional manager in charge of operations in Africa, chose to leave the country in March, while Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crime compliance at Binance, spent more than two months in custody in Nigeria.
Teng revealed that executives from Binance met with Nigerian authorities twice in February after first meeting in January. At this summit, Nigerian authorities classified Binance-related concerns as threats to the country’s security. In addition, they wanted all user data pertaining to Nigeria removed from Binance’s platform and the naira currency removed.
Following their joint discussions with Nigerian officials, Teng strongly condemned Gambaryan and Anjarwalla’s arrest. He says that multinational corporations would be setting a dangerous precedent with this move.
In early March, Binance took action by suspending all naira-related transactions and trading. They hoped that their jailed colleagues would be released and that they could resume productive engagement with the Nigerian authorities.
While reiterating Binance’s steadfast resolve to resolve any lingering matters with Nigerian authorities, Teng emphasized the critical importance of Gambaryan’s release. In order to resolve any possible past tax liabilities, this pledge includes cooperating with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
