- Binance CEO Richard Teng has strongly condemned Tigran Gambaryan’s detention, asserting his innocence and calling for his immediate release
- Teng highlighted Gambaryan’s proven track record in financial crime prevention and Binance’s efforts to comply with Nigerian regulations
- He appealed for Gambaryan’s return to his family and urged cooperation between Binance and Nigeria to resolve their issues
Binance CEO Richard Teng has made his strongest condemnation yet of the detention of the company’s head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, saying that the American is innocent and must be released. In a lengthy blog post, Teng outlined Gambaryan history of financial crime fighting and Binance’s attempts to satisfy Nigerian regulations, ending with the request that Gambaryan be allowed to “go home to his family” and that Binance be allowed to continue to work with the Nigerian government to resolve the outstanding issues.
Meeting Was Ruse for Arrest
Gambaryan has been in detention since being invited to what Teng described as “collaborative policy meetings” in February along with the company’s Africa chief, Nadeem Anjarwalla, where they were given “multiple assurances that they would be granted safe passage,” but things did not pan out that way.
As Teng describes, the meeting turned hostile, with EFCC members demanding the delisting of the Nigerian naira from Binance, along with user data and financial information. Until those demands were met, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla would remain as “guests” in a secure compound, with their passports and phones confiscated.
Despite Binance’s legal team agreeing to delist the naira in exchange for their release, authorities continued to detain the pair, with Teng saying that they were “accused personally of holding responsibility for the state of the naira and the overall economy, and allegations of terrorist financing and money laundering.”
Teng Hopes Nigeria Will Talk
Teng noted that Anjarwalla “left unlawful detention” (he escaped and fled the country), leaving Gambaryan to face trial on his own, stating that the company’s support for its employee remained “unwavering” and urged the Nigerian authorities to come to the table to discuss the matter.
Teng ended his blog post on a hopeful, if not upbeat, note:
I’d like to express my deepest gratitude for the many notes of support we have received from around the world in response to this crisis, and I hope that my next update is one where our employees are safe at home with their families.
Gambaryan’s trial is due to start on May 17, after a two-week delay due to new evidence being submitted.
