Nigeria’s Move Against Crypto Giant Sparks Controversy: Compliance Head and Africa Manager Detained for Weeks

Nigeria Holds Binance Executives Against Their Will for Two Weeks Over Controversial Crypto Dispute

The Nigerian government has been embroiled in a heated dispute with cryptocurrency exchange Binance, leading to the detainment of two senior executives for the past two weeks. Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance and a U.S. citizen, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Kenya-based regional manager for Africa with dual citizenship of the U.K. and Kenya, were both taken into custody upon their arrival in Abuja on February 25.

Accusations against Binance have been made by Nigeria in recent weeks, with the African country demanding a staggering $10 billion in penalties for enabling untraceable funds worth $26 billion to be processed in the nation. In response, the Nigerian government invited the executives to discuss the matter, but upon their arrival, they were unexpectedly detained and moved to a “guesthouse” run by Nigeria’s National Security Agency.

Binance has been actively working towards a resolution with Nigerian authorities, and a spokesperson for the exchange has assured that they are collaborating to bring Gambaryan and Anjarwalla back home safely to their families. Both individuals have been visited by government officials from their respective countries, but the meetings were held under the watchful eye of Nigerian government guards.

Gambaryan, a former special agent of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Cyber Crimes Unit, and Anjarwalla, a highly regarded professional with a strong track record of integrity, have been met with immense support from their employer. “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,” said the Binance spokesperson.

While the office of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has yet to respond to a request for comment, reports from The Wall Street Journal and Wired indicate that both executives have been detained for the past two weeks.

This is not the first time that Binance has been caught in a legal dispute over its operations. In 2017, the exchange moved from China to Japan following a crackdown by Chinese authorities. Similarly, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission ordered the exchange to cease operations in the country in 2019.

Binance has since established a strong presence in Africa, with Nigeria being one of its largest markets. It remains to be seen how the current situation will pan out, but the exchange continues to operate in other countries, providing support to traders and users globally.