What We Currently Know: Two Binance Executives Remain in Detention in Nigeria
Two senior executives from Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, have been detained in Nigeria since February 26th with no indication of when they will be released, according to recent reports. The names of the detained individuals, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, were revealed in an article by Wired. The executives traveled to Nigeria in response to an invitation from the government to discuss allegations that Binance had a role in manipulating the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Nigerian naira. The Nigerian government had previously disabled access to crypto-based websites like Binance, claiming that the exchange allowed P2P naira traders to manipulate the exchange rate. After a series of regulatory disputes, Binance disabled the P2P feature for the currency. Following their meeting with the government, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were instructed to gather their belongings and were taken to a government-owned facility in Abuja, the country’s capital. Their passports were confiscated without any explanation of criminal charges against them. The Binance officials currently have access to a television and a balcony at the facility. Gambaryan, an American citizen who leads Binance’s criminal investigation team and has supported the US government in cracking down on illicit cryptocurrency assets, has been contacted by a representative from the US State Department. Anjarwalla, who serves as Binance Africa’s regional manager, has been contacted by a representative from the United Kingdom, as he holds dual citizenship in Kenya and the UK. A spokesperson from Binance declined to provide details on when the detained officials would be released, while the Nigerian government has yet to announce a release date for the Binance representatives.
