The CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, condemned Nigeria’s actions after two of its executives were detained during a crackdown on crypto-related activities.
Richard Teng expressed concern over the detention of Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and highlighted the case as setting a concerning precedent.
According to Teng, Binance executives were initially invited to Nigeria for meetings with authorities in January.
However, during a subsequent meeting on February 26, Nigerian authorities raised national security concerns and demanded that Binance delist the naira currency from its platform and provide detailed information on Nigerian users.
Following this, Gambaryan and another executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained.
Teng criticized Nigeria’s actions, stating that detaining mid-level employees after inviting them for collaborative meetings is unprecedented and concerning for companies worldwide.
He emphasized that Gambaryan had been held in Nigeria for over two months on what he described as “spurious reasons.”
In response to the situation, Binance announced the suspension of all transactions and trading in naira in early March, hoping that their colleagues would be released and further concerns could be resolved through continued engagement with Nigerian authorities.
Teng urged for Gambaryan’s release so that Binance could work with Nigerian authorities to address any outstanding issues, including potential historic tax liabilities.
Source-Reuters
