Richard Teng, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, expressed the company’s willingness to collaborate with the Nigerian government on strengthening the country’s economy. However, he stated that this would only be possible if the government releases Tigran Gambaryan, who was detained following a meeting with government officials on Feb. 26. Teng conveyed his statement in a May 7 post on Binance’s website.
“The Nigerian government has extraordinary power to determine the future of Binance and the broader crypto industry within its borders,” said Teng, according to Binance. “At the end of the day, Binance wants to have a future where we work alongside the Nigerian government to be part of building a strong economy for the Nigerian people. But this crisis must come to a resolution quickly, and Tigran must be allowed to go home if we’re going to move forward.”
According to Teng, Gambaryan joined Binance in 2021 after a decade-long career fighting cybercrime for the U.S. federal government. As head of Binance’s financial crime compliance team, Gambaryan and his colleagues collaborated with global law enforcement agencies, including those in Nigeria, to combat financial crimes. However, when Nigeria’s currency, the naira, lost value in early 2024, Nigerian officials accused Binance of manipulating the currency exchange rate. Gambaryan and other Binance employees traveled to Nigeria in January and met with government officials. Upon leaving the meeting, they were approached by unknown individuals who suggested they make a payment to settle these allegations. The company was then informed by its local counsel about a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency within 48 hours to resolve these issues. This demand was not considered a “legitimate settlement offer” by Binance and its employees promptly left Nigeria.
Teng mentioned that Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla returned to Nigeria for a scheduled meeting on Feb. 26 after receiving multiple assurances of safe passage. Post-meeting, Nigerian officials confiscated their passports and cellphones and moved them to a high-security compound where it was made clear they were not free to leave. Despite complying with requests from the Nigerian government such as removing the naira from its platform, Gambaryan remains detained in Nigeria while Anjarwalla managed to escape detention in March. Gambaryan is now facing criminal charges. During an April 25 hearing, a Nigerian prosecutor stated, “The 1st defendant [Binance] is operating virtually. The only thing we have to hold on to is this defendant [Tigran].” Teng interpreted the message from the Nigerian government as clear: detain an innocent mid-level employee and former U.S. federal agent in a dangerous prison to control Binance.
According to a post by the Digital Chamber, the Nigerian government’s detention of Gambaryan has alarming implications. The Chamber warned that Gambaryan’s “detainment under such dubious circumstances sets a dangerous precedent, signaling that any American businessman abroad, particularly those in the cryptocurrency sector, is vulnerable to similar unlawful actions by foreign governments.” The Chamber also highlighted that Nigeria is an ally of the U.S., receiving more than $1 billion in U.S. foreign aid annually.
A report dated April 30 from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggested that the risk assessment processes of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for Nigeria are insufficient due to heightened political and security risks in the country. Nigeria faces numerous challenges including piracy, ethno-religious conflicts, corruption, weapons and narcotics trafficking, misrule, and armed banditry which undermine its government’s legitimacy. Widespread and complex corruption impacting Nigeria’s political and security sectors was also highlighted by GAO.
Gambaryan is globally recognized as someone fully dedicated to law enforcement, according to a post on Binance’s website. For ten years he served as a U.S. federal agent investigating cases related to national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations among others. During his tenure at the U.S. Treasury Department’s IRS Criminal Investigations unit, Gambaryan worked alongside agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the United States Secret Service.
