Binance demands release of Nigerian executive

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, recently released a statement regarding Tigran Gambaryan, a key member of its Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) team, and that the company is in discussions with Nigerian government officials. The statement came after Nigerian authorities arrested two managers of the company.

The statement noted that Gambayan’s team has responded to hundreds of requests for information from Nigerian law enforcement agencies or related to related investigations in the country. This cooperation resulted in asset freezes and seizures targeting a variety of crimes. The team is also said to have provided training to local authorities:

Tigran’s team has also provided multiple training sessions to Nigerian crime fighters on the role of exchanges in the digital asset ecosystem.These included a three-hour online workshop for 70 Nigerians [Economic and Financial Crimes Commission] EFCC officials held a meeting in mid-2023 and late last year, EFCC officials held two full-day meetings in Abuja and Lagos, each attended by more than 30 investigators.

No decision-making power, no responsibility

Binance clarified that although Gambaryan plays a key role in compliance, he does not belong to the company’s management and does not have decision-making authority:

Tigran is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance management. […] Binance respectfully asks Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, to take responsibility. Binance is currently in discussions with Nigerian government officials.

The statement also highlighted Gambarian’s extensive experience in law enforcement and his alleged efforts to assist authorities around the world in their fight against financial crime. The statement said Gambarian is a U.S. citizen with ten years of experience as a federal agent who has investigated a variety of cases, including those related to national security, terrorist financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

During his tenure with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Division, he led a number of high-profile investigations and worked with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service on a variety of cases.

In 2021, Gambaryan joined Binance to lead the exchange’s FCC team, with the goal of resolving past compliance issues and developing strong policy and compliance capabilities. The statement pointed out that between 2022 and 2023, Gambarian’s team assisted global law enforcement authorities in freezing and seizing a large number of assets, including US$285 million in cooperation with U.S. agencies.

Previously, Binance stopped all services in Nigeria due to legal disputes.