Tigran Gambaryan, a senior executive at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will face trial in Nigeria for charges of tax evasion and money laundering. A Nigerian court in Abuja ruled that the 40-year-old, who has been detained in Nigeria for over two months, cannot be granted bail due to concerns he might flee the country. The presiding judge, Emeka Nwite, emphasized that Gambaryan, who holds both American and Armenian citizenship, is a flight risk, despite his passport being held by the complainants.
Gambaryan, who denies the charges, was arrested by Nigerian authorities on February 28, 2024, alongside his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, upon their arrival in the country. Gambaryan, a former US tax agent, now serves as Binance’s head of financial crime compliance. Both were detained after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused Binance of laundering more than $35 million through its platform. Additionally, Nigeria’s tax authority alleged that Binance failed to register for remittance purposes, leading to charges of tax evasion. The government has also sought data on prominent Binance users in Nigeria.
Gambaryan’s arrest follows a series of legal challenges faced by Binance. Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national, has been on the run since March after escaping custody in Abuja. Reports suggest he may be in Kenya and is potentially facing extradition to Nigeria.
Binance has denied the charges, claiming that Nigerian authorities attempted to extort $150 million in cryptocurrency during an earlier visit in January. The Nigerian government, however, has dismissed these claims, describing them as an attempt to distract from serious criminal allegations against the company.
The cryptocurrency exchange is widely used in Nigeria, where it has a large user base, particularly among young people in urban areas who turn to Binance due to the country’s unstable national currency, the naira. Nigerian authorities argue that Binance’s operations have contributed to the naira’s volatility.
This latest case is part of a growing series of legal issues for Binance. In April 2024, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was handed a four-month sentence in the US for money laundering, just months after the company was fined $4.3 billion.
For years, Nigeria has sought to regulate cryptocurrency activity. Central Bank Governor Yemi Cardoso has raised concerns over speculation on cryptocurrency platforms, claiming that Binance may have helped move up to $26 billion in untraceable funds. In 2021, former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, who is currently facing his own legal challenges, ordered commercial banks to block accounts linked to cryptocurrency, but this was met with limited adoption of the central bank’s own digital currency.
On the eve of Gambaryan’s court appearance, EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede warned that cryptocurrency platforms could unknowingly facilitate terrorism financing in Nigeria, citing discoveries made during investigations.
This article was updated on May 23, 2024, to correct the position of Tigran Gambaryan, who is Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, not the chief compliance officer.
