- Binance’s compliance chief, Tigran Gambaryan, has quit the company, ending a tumultuous four‑year tenure after his release from Nigerian detention
- Gambaryan has expressed interest in pursuing roles in public service or mission‑driven organizations, citing the need for “trusted, experienced operators”
- His departure marks another significant executive exit amid Binance’s broader pivot toward compliance under mounting global scrutiny
Binance’s head of compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, announced last week that he is to leave his role, following his harrowing eight-month detention in Nigeria. In a brief LinkedIn post summarising his achievements, Gambaryan acknowledged that he had “done all that I can” to help the company become compliant, and is now seeking a role back in the public sector or for more mission-driven private companies. The move is no surprise, given that his position was the sole reason for his detention, and follows a ‘come and get me’ plea to the Trump administration earlier this year.
Four Years Enough for Former Silk Road Investigator
Tigran Gambaryan joined Binance in 2021 as head of financial crime compliance, leveraging his background as a former Internal Revenue Service investigator. At Binance, he built a global investigations team of over 100 former prosecutors and federal agents and under his leadership, the company processed more than 57,000 law-enforcement requests.
In his farewell post, Gambaryan reflected on the kind of person needed to take the challenge on, “There’s a growing need for trusted, experienced operators, people who understand how to translate between technology, enforcement, and compliance.” The former Silk Road investigator begged the Trump administration to come and take him back into the fold in January, saying it would be “an honor” to work in government again. This has failed to rouse Team Trump, however, and Gambaryan has decided to forge his own path outside of Binance.
Gambaryan’s Nigerian Nightmare
If Gambaryan hadn’t already been thinking of quitting Binance, his detention in Nigeria would have sealed the deal. In February 2024, Gambaryan travelled to Nigeria with a colleague to meet regulators, only to be detained by local authorities on money-laundering and currency manipulation charges. While Gambaryan remained in custody, his colleague escaped to Kenya, leaving him facing decades in prison and suffering from malaria, a herniated disc, pneumonia, and tonsillitis before he was released on humanitarian grounds eight months later when charges were dropped.
Gambaryan’s exit is the latest in a series of high-profile departures at Binance, reflective of the exchange’s broader leadership shake-up. Since early 2023, at least 16 senior executives, including founder co-founder Changpeng Zhao, who stepped aside after a U.S. plea deal, have left, marking a cultural and regulatory pivot. Under CEO Richard Teng, Binance has increasingly emphasised institutional rigour and compliance, attaining licenses in multiple countries.
