Concerns have been raised by CEO Richard Teng, the Binance CEO, about Nigeria’s treatment of detained executives, warning of potential global implications. He expressed worries about the arrest of the company’s executives in Nigeria, calling it a “dangerous precedent” for businesses globally. In an interview with Reuters, Teng emphasised the need to address the prolonged detention of Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance head of financial crime compliance and a U.S. citizen. The company’s executives Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla are on trial for tax evasion and money laundering allegations, with the company vigorously disputing the charges.
According to a statement from Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, it was revealed that Anjarwalla managed to evade custody and leave the country with a forged passport. The CEO of Binance stated that initial discussions with Nigerian officials took place in January 2024. Following up on February 26, authorities emphasised that the concerns surrounding Binance were related to national security. They insisted on removing the naira from the platform and requested detailed information on every Nigerian user.
NSA Office captures the executives during their visit.
Teng expressed his strongest concerns since the case began in February, stating that inviting mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings only to detain them has established a risky precedent for companies globally. He revealed that Gambaryan had been held in Nigeria for more than two months on suspicious charges. In March, the company announced a suspension of all naira transactions and trading. He expressed disappointment that their colleagues were not released as hoped, hindering further collaboration with the Nigerian government.
He recommended that Gambaryan be allowed to go back home as the company and Nigerian officials work out any disagreements. Nigeria officials apprehended Nadeem Anjarwalla, the 37-year-old British-Kenyan, Africa regional manager, and Tigran Gambaryan, the 39-year-old American who leads financial crime compliance at Binance, on February 28. The nation’s recent clampdown on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges prompted their visit to Nigeria. While staying there, they were captured by the National Security Adviser’s Office and had their passports taken away from them.
Value Added Tax and Company Income Tax were not returned.
After Binance executives were detained, the exchange stopped allowing the trading of naira with bitcoin and tether cryptocurrencies. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) later announced on March 24 that one of the executives, Anjarwalla, had managed to escape custody. Anjarwalla, who holds both British and Kenyan citizenship, reportedly left Abuja on a Middle Eastern airline. There is still uncertainty surrounding how he managed to board an international flight after entering Nigeria with his British passport, which was confiscated by Nigerian authorities.
Furthermore, the company is accused of failing to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT), not meeting tax return filing requirements, and aiding users in evading taxes. The Federal Government filed a lawsuit against Binance, accusing the company of failing to register for tax purposes with the FIRS and breaking tax laws. The FIRS claims that one of the charges in the lawsuit is related to Binance’s supposed neglect in collecting and forwarding various types of taxes to the federation as required by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as revised.
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Moreover, the Federal High Court postponed the case against Binance and its two executives until May 17. Money laundering, as well as tax evasion, are at the centre of the case, with additional government worries surrounding accusations of currency manipulation by peer-to-peer traders. Despite the allegations, all involved parties have denied any wrongdoing. Binance and its executives are currently dealing with a separate trial focused on four counts of tax evasion, scheduled to continue in May.
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