In January the company refused to pay a demand from “unknown persons” to settle allegations.
Binance CEO Richard Teng called on the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan, head of the crypto exchange’s Financial Crime Compliance team, who flew to the country in February for talks on regulatory supervision.
“As you may be aware, one of our beloved colleagues, Tigran Gambaryan, continues to be held by the government in Nigeria for more than 70 days,” Teng wrote in a blog post. “I also feel that it’s time to speak out about this issue on behalf of the global business community.
To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”
The government of Africa’s most populous nation is struggling with an economic crisis that sent its currency to a record low against the dollar in March while inflation climbed to a 28-year high of 33.2%.
In February, Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso said Binance had allowed $26 billion of funds to leave the country untraceably last year, hitting tax revenues.
Binance has been trying to contact the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission since 2022 to clarify the licensing requirements, though it hasn’t received responses to its approaches, Teng wrote.
Gambaryan and the exchange’s regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained in February after flying in for a meeting that included the CEO of the SEC, the deputy governor of the central bank and the national security adviser, according to Teng.
The executives were originally held in a secure compound, according to Teng. Anjarwalla made headlines in March after escaping custody.
Gambaryan, who is now being held on money laundering charges, is in the Kuje prison – which also houses suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorist group – after an Abuja court postponed a bail hearing until May 17. The two have filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian authorities for violating their human rights.