This week in the crypto world, we saw Tigran Gambaryan walk free, the U.S. government hacked, and the SEC add more charges against Binance.
Tigran Gambaryan Freed at Last
Binance’s compliance chief, Tigran Gambaryan, was finally freed this week after eight months in detention in Nigeria on ridiculous tax evasion and money laundering charges. Gambaryan’s plight has made national news headlines, most notably over his failing health, as he was made the scapegoat for Nigerian authorities’ attitude towards Binance, holding him equally as responsible for what it says has been billions in money laundering in the country.
Gambaryan was eventually allowed to leave the country this week after all charges against him were dropped, with the case against Binance continuing without him. Gambaryan will seek medical attention for malaria and back problems before heading home to see his family for the first time since February.
U.S. Government Hacked?
The U.S. government appeared to have suffered the most ironic of incidents this week after $20 million in cryptocurrencies seized from the Bitfinex hackers was itself stolen from its own wallet. Blockchain analysts from Arkham Intelligence noticed suspicious movements out of the wallets, with Twitter sleuth ZachXBT noting that the coins went straight to decentralized exchanges for liquidation.
The government has yet to release an official response, but all indications are that the U.S. government has become the latest crypto hacking victim.
SEC Ups the Ante Against Binance
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week week amended its complaint against Binance, adding additional charges involving wash trading and investor misrepresentation. The agency is now throwing extra charges at the exchange, alleging that it misled investors about the controls on Binance.US, while CEO Changpeng Zhao exercised substantial control behind the scenes.
The agency also suggested that Zhao’s control over Binance’s U.S. operations was bigger than he had initially stated, alleging that he directed key operations and made critical business decisions while also overseeing efforts to bypass U.S. regulations.
