Binance, a troubled global cryptocurrency exchange, is facing additional challenges in Nigeria as its executive Tigran Gambaryan, who is based in the United States, continues to be detained in the country.
According to The Wall Street Journal’s report on April 3, Nigeria has imposed more charges against Binance, despite the exchange’s attempts to engage in dialogue with local regulators. The Nigerian authorities had previously blamed Binance for the crash of its fiat currency, the Nigerian naira, in February 2024.
Bayo Onanuga, the presidential adviser on information and strategy, recommended banning platforms like Binance in Nigeria. In response to this threat, two senior Binance executives, including Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, traveled to Nigeria to seek a dialogue with local authorities. However, both executives were detained, even though Binance had taken urgent measures to delist all naira transactions and halt peer-to-peer naira transactions in February.
The recent report from The Wall Street Journal about new charges against Binance coincides with the exchange’s release of a statement appealing to Nigerian authorities to release Gambaryan. Binance argued that Gambaryan holds decision-making power within the company and should not be held accountable while discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.
While Gambaryan remains in custody in Nigeria, Anjarwalla, another Binance executive who is also implicated in the case, reportedly managed to leave the country using a fake passport in March. Local reports suggest that Anjarwalla escaped detention on March 22, after being taken to a nearby mosque for prayers.
This is an ongoing story, and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.