Binance Tigran Gambaryan’s detention in Nigeria has hit the six-month mark.

Authorities seem determined to hold Gambaryan accountable for the alleged actions of the exchange.

Gambaryan’s health is quickly deteriorating.

Binance Chief Financial Crime Compliance Officer Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and former IRS Special Agent, entered Nigeria in February 2024 to discuss easing tensions between his employers and the government, expecting to be away for just a few days. Things, however, have not gone as planned. Sponsored

Fast forward to August 26, 2024, Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria for exactly six months in relation to charges against Binance. Months after the initial arrest, Gambaryan’s family continues to await answers as to why the Nigerian government is holding a mid-level manager with no decision-making power for the alleged actions of his employers.

How Gambaryan’s Nigerian Nightmare Started

The origins of Binance Tigran Gambaryan’s woes can be traced to nearly a year before his arrest, as by the summer of 2023, it was clear that his employers had drawn the ire of Nigerian regulators who have always had a murky relationship with the crypto industry.

Binance Enters Regulatory Cross-Hairs

The first sign of trouble came in June 2023 when Nigeria’s SEC released a circular announcing a ban on the operations of “Binance Nigeria Limited,” believing the Nigerian registered entity belonged to the international exchange. In reality, however, the entity was registered by a domain squatter who hoped to eventually sell the name to the international exchange at a high profit, a common practice with web domains.

Realizing their error, Nigeria’s SEC released another circular, this time naming the international to clear any doubt about the target of its action. The agency accused Binance of operating illegally in Nigeria, warning the exchange against further soliciting customers in the country.

According to Binance CEO Richard Teng, the exchange had made multiple efforts to reach the SEC to kick off licensing procedures following this circular but was met with radio silence. Sponsored

By the turn of the calendar year, it was clear that the exchange had failed to douse rising tensions.

Red Flags 

In January 2024, a team of Binance delegates, including Tigran Gambaryan, were made aware of severe allegations against the firm and the lengths the Nigerian government was willing to go to summon it, including issuing an arrest warrant against the visiting team.

The team had arrived in Nigeria for an investigative hearing at the invitation of the country’s Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes (HCFC), Ginger Onwusibe. It was made aware of the charges during a private pre-hearing meeting.

After this meeting, Gambaryan disclosed that he was approached by some officials who claimed that the exchange could make the charges go away by making a $150 million crypto payment. The delegates fled Nigeria after this request, with the understanding that it was a request for a bribe from someone within President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government, a claim the government has refuted.

The threat of arrest from the HCFC would be a sign of things to come. Still, Binance CEO Richard Teng asserted that, at the time, the exchange had not taken the threat too seriously after discovering that the HCFC could not constitutionally issue warrants for arrest.

An Ill-Fated Trip 

Fast forward to February 2024, and Binance received yet another invitation from the Nigerian government, this time from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) Nuhu Ribadu. The invitation came at a time when Nigeria’s currency, the naira, was rapidly depreciating and trading at record lows of about 1,900 to a dollar, a crisis that authorities were publicly attributing to alleged wash trading activity on Binance’s p2p marketplace.

Despite the threat in January and the growing allegations, Binance’s delegates Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the firm’s regional head for Africa, obliged the invitation in good faith amid several safety assurances.

These assurances would, however, fall through.

Incarceration 

On February 26, 2024, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla met with Nigeria’s NSA Nuhu Ribadu as planned but were quickly faced with more than they had bargained for. During the talks, Ribadu reportedly requested that the exchange handover data about its customers, including their personal details, a request the mid-level Binance managers asserted they could not discuss outside their embassies. They would, however, be afforded no such privilege.

Detention

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla’s passports were seized after they refused to humor the NSA’s request. They were further escorted to an NSA-controlled “guest house,” where they were transferred into the custody of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). And so Gambaryan’s ordeal began.

Both men would be held at the facility for a month with no formal charges despite the expiration of a 12-day remand order to hold them pending a classified investigation. Anjarwalla would eventually flee this detention before these charges materialized.

Anjarwalla’s Escape

Anjarwalla fled EFCC detention on Friday, March 22, after being led to a nearby mosque to pray during the Ramadan fast. The Binance regional manager reportedly evaded his captors by mixing in with the crowd at the mosque and then making a run for the Abuja International Airport, where he boarded a “Middle East airliner” out of the country.

Anjarwalla’s escape had left many observers scratching their heads as the NSA was supposed to have seized the Binance executive’s passport. The prevailing theory is that Anjarwalla, who held British and Kenyan citizenship, had only submitted his British passport, while hiding his Kenyan passport on his person.

Criminal Charges Appear

On March 25, three days after Anjarwalla’s escape, Nigeria’s tax authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), unveiled charges bordering on tax evasion against Binance, naming Gambaryan and Anjarwalla as second and third defendants.

The lawsuit outlines four charges: “non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform.”

Another three days later, on March 28, the EFCC piled in with money laundering charges, similarly naming Gambaryan and Anjarwalla as co-defendants. The agency claims that between 2023 to 2024, the parties conspired to conceal $35.4 million in illicit proceeds from Nigeria.

Amid procedural hiccups and disagreements over how best to serve Binance, however, authorities could not arraign Gambaryan for almost two weeks.

Transfer To Prison

Despite arguments from the defense to the contrary, prosecutors were able to convince the judge that Gambaryan was an agent of Binance who could receive service on the firm’s behalf. On April 8, the Binance executive was made to enter a plea on behalf of the exchange and himself. 

Shortly after Gambaryan entered a not-guilty plea, prosecutors further secured an order to move him from EFCC custody to Kuje Prison, a facility infamous for holding Boko Haram terrorists and being the subject of a July 2022 Islamic State terrorist attack.

Gambaryan remains in this facility till now.

How Gambaryan’s Legal Battle Has Progressed

On June 14, Gambaryan scored a partial win in his fight for freedom as the FIRS amended its charges to drop the Binance executive as a defendant after the exchange appointed an agent in the country to receive processes on its behalf.

The Binance executive has, however, yet to have had any such luck with the money laundering charges filed by the EFCC as the agency remains adamant on prosecuting the executive. So far, the case has seen testimony from a SEC director and an official of the country’s central bank.

These testimonies have, however, done little to indict Gambaryan besides reaffirming his role as the firm’s chief financial crime compliance officer, a role the defense has tried to clarify is akin to an investigator called in when a crime is suspected to have been committed, per hearings observed by DailyCoin.

Recess

Since July 16, Gambaryan’s case has been put on hold amid an annual recess for Nigerian Federal High Court judges slated to run from July 23 to September 23. The court had initially ruled to resume the case on October 11. Still, following a successful appeal to get the case heard during the recess, the court has now set a new trial date of September 2, per a family statement shared with DailyCoin on Monday, August 26.

Meanwhile, during this recess, Gambaryan’s family has accused prison officials of unconstitutionally denying the Binance executive access to his lawyers save for a five-minute visit on August 15, a situation that hinders Gambaryan’s lawyers from properly preparing for the trial as the family points out. DailyCoin has previously reached out to the Nigerian Correctional Service for comments on the claims but has yet to receive any response at the time of writing.

At the same time, Gambaryan’s family asserts that the US Embassy no longer has access to the Binance executive amid a deteriorating health condition.

Gambaryan’s Health Suffering

Months of living in less-than-ideal conditions far away from his friends and family have taken a toll on Gambaryan’s health, with his wife, Yuki Gambaryan, recently raising concerns that the Binance executive now risked permanent health damage amid negligence from officials.

Gambaryan’s health first became a concern in the case after he collapsed during court proceedings on May 23 amid an apparent battle with malaria and pneumonia. Since then, court proceedings observed by DailyCoin have suggested that Gambaryan’s health struggles have only gone from bad to worse, with the Binance executive needing to be ushered in with a wheelchair during the last hearing on July 16.

According to the Binance executive’s family, Gambaryan suffers from a herniated disk, which has worsened to the point of requiring multiple surgeries due to negligence from Nigerian officials.

"he [Gambaryan] is now in so much pain from a herniated disc in his back that he can no longer walk," the family asserts in their most recent statement to DailyCoin, a condition they have warned could be permanent if the Binance executive does not undergo surgery soon.

Beyond physical health challenges, Gambaryan’s detention has likely also taken its toll on the Binance executive’s mental health.

Missed Milestones

While in Nigerian detention, Gambaryan has missed several family milestones, including his son’s fifth birthday and first day at school, as well as spent his own 40th birthday in Nigerian prison. At the same time, Gambaryan is on course to miss his wife’s birthday and 15th wedding anniversary on August 31.

In a video shared with the recent family statement, the Binance executive’s wife, Yuki Gambaryan, described the last six months as a “living nightmare” for her family. 

"For 6 months, my life, my living nightmare has been filled with pleas. Pleas to the Nigerian government, pleas to the US government, pleas to the media, pleas to anyone who will listen. I am pleading for their mercy, for their understanding, for their humanity. And right now, I am pleading to you, I am asking for your help, and for your advocacy, on behalf of my family, please help me bring my husband home," She pleaded.

So far, Gambaryan’s case has drawn the attention of US pressure groups, lawmakers, and former prosecutors. In a July House resolution, Representatives French Hill and Rich McCormick called on the Biden administration to treat Gambaryan’s detention as a hostage situation in accordance with the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.

On the Flipside 

Nigerian authorities have maintained that Gambaryan is being held on legal grounds and is well-treated.

Binance is now the sole defendant in the tax evasion case.

Why This Matters

Gambaryan has spent six months in prison, far away from his family and friends, for the alleged actions of his employers. His case sets a scary precedent for US crypto workers abroad.

Read this for more on the Gambaryan detention saga:Tigran Gambaryan Denied Access to Lawyers as Health Deteriorates

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