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Binance has been actively collaborating with Nigerian authorities following the arrest of its head of financial crime compliance.
The executive, Tigran Gambaryan, along with another Binance representative, is facing allegations of laundering more than $35 million.
This case, which has been postponed until May 2, is under the jurisdiction of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency.
Binance CEO States They Are Addressing the Situation
At the Token2049 crypto conference in Dubai, Binance CEO Richard Teng spoke about Gambaryan’s predicament, asserting that they are working to address the matter.
“What I can say is we are working very closely with the Nigerian authorities to try to resolve the matter.”
In the meantime, the other executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan serving as a regional manager for Africa, left Nigeria last month.
Anjarwalla and Gambaryan had traveled to Nigeria after the country enacted a ban on several cryptocurrency trading platforms.
However, upon their arrival on February 26, they were apprehended by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In addition to the EFCC case, Nigeria’s tax authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has accused Binance and the executives of tax evasion.
The tax evasion case is scheduled to be heard in court on Friday.
Binance’s head of regional markets, Vishal Sacheendran, stressed that the detentions were an isolated incident and unprecedented for the company.
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However, he refrained from commenting on the allegations against Binance itself.
The accusations against Binance Holdings Limited and its executives include tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering totaling $35.4 million.
Court documents indicate that charges were brought against Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla (who is currently at large) on March 28, 2024, in the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Abuja.
The charges encompass operating a specialized financial business without a valid license, conducting business as a financial institution without authorization, unlawful negotiation of foreign exchange rates, conspiracy to conceal the origin of illicit funds, and money laundering.
Furthermore, on March 22, the Nigerian government filed an additional four-count charge against Binance Holdings Limited, Anjarwalla, and Gambaryan, accusing them of providing services to subscribers on their platform without registering with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and neglecting to pay applicable taxes.
Binance Secures Dubai License
Binance recently announced that it has acquired a license from Dubai’s regulator, VARA, allowing the platform to serve retail clients as well as qualified and institutional ones.
According to Bloomberg, the licensing process required Binance’s founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, to relinquish voting control of the Dubai unit.
However, Teng dismissed the report as speculation, stressing that the company does not comment on media conjecture and maintains confidential relationships with regulators.
The European Union’s securities regulator recently pointed out that “crypto exchanges largely operate outside of national legal frameworks” and noted that Binance claims not to have a headquarters.
When questioned about Binance’s selection of a global headquarters, Teng revealed that the company has narrowed down potential locations but declined to provide details on specific sites or a timeline for a final decision.
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