Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
On October 24, Binance CEO Richard Teng publicly stated: “We are deeply relieved and grateful that Tigran Gambaryan has finally been released after nearly eight months of detention in Nigeria. During this difficult time, Tigran Gambaryan has shown tremendous strength, and we commend his resilience in such severe adversity. We are very thankful to everyone who has dedicated countless hours to support Tigran’s release.”
This also officially marks the conclusion of the previous incident of “Binance executives detained in Nigeria,” fortunately, it is a story with a happy ending.
In this event, we may also glimpse the “relationship” between the cryptocurrency industry and government regulatory forces. Odaily Planet Daily will briefly review this matter in this article for readers' reference.
Decoding Tigran Gambaryan: Former IRS Agent, Now Executive at a Cryptocurrency Exchange
In September 2021, Tigran Gambaryan officially joined Binance. According to reports, during his tenure at the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), he led several multi-billion dollar cyber investigations, including investigations into the Silk Road website and the Mt. Gox hacking incident.
At that time, he held the position of Vice President of Global Intelligence and Investigations at Binance. Meanwhile, Binance announced that another former IRS agent, Matthew Price, would serve as Senior Director of Investigations. Binance stated that it would focus on compliance and collaborate with global regulatory agencies. CZ also stated at the time: “The Binance investigation team now includes top investigators from around the world, and this level of experience will make Binance a leader in compliance, enhancing trust in Binance and the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.”
As an experienced agent, Gambaryan investigated multiple cases involving national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, child pornography distribution, tax evasion, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act during his ten years in the IRS Criminal Investigation Cyber Crime Division, laying a solid foundation for his involvement in cryptocurrency compliance-related business.
After taking office, Gambaryan's work performance also corroborated this.
In May 2022, possibly under his influence, Binance announced that renowned experts in global cybercrime, former Europol EC3 dark web team cryptocurrency asset expert Jarek Jakubcek, joined Binance as the Director of Intelligence and Investigations for the Asia-Pacific region.
In June 2022, Gambaryan stated that the Indian community's interest in Binance Blockchain Academy content had increased, and Binance hoped to encourage wise and thoughtful participation in the Indian digital asset ecosystem through appropriate education. A series of education programs centered on the Indian market had been launched. India could become a global hub for blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3 talent, and achieving this goal should include creating an environment for startups to nurture and grow to meet the needs of Indian customers.
In August 2022, the Binance compliance team stated that Binance was vigorously implementing KYC policies, which, although causing significant losses in the short term, were still being enforced very firmly. According to official responses, it lost 90% of its customers, with revenue losses amounting to billions of dollars.
In September 2022, Binance announced the launch of the industry's first global project—the “Global Law Enforcement Training Program,” aimed at helping law enforcement agencies and prosecutors identify financial and cyber crimes and assist in prosecuting malicious actors. The training program was led by the Binance investigation team, including Gambaryan.
At that time, Binance and Nigeria were also in a “honeymoon period,” and both sides even planned to establish a digital economic zone to help the country's entrepreneurs quickly track blockchain technology. According to a statement from the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, the partnership aimed to establish a digital center “similar to the Dubai Virtual Free Zone.” After all, at that time, the number of cryptocurrency holders in Nigeria had exceeded 22 million, making it the undisputed “largest cryptocurrency market” in Africa.
But soon, as time moved into 2023, the relationship between the two sides took a sharp turn, laying the groundwork for this year's “Binance executives detained in Nigeria” incident.
Nigeria vs. Binance: When Cryptocurrency Institutions Face National Power
In July 2023, Nigeria's securities regulatory agency stated in a notice that all activities of Binance were not registered with the agency and were not under its regulation, thus all cryptocurrency-related activities by Binance were deemed illegal. The notice also ordered all cryptocurrency platform providers to cease soliciting Nigerian citizens.
In February 2024, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, stated that in 2023, $26 billion worth of cryptocurrency funds flowed through Binance Nigeria that could not be “adequately” identified in terms of their source. This finding was made against the backdrop of Nigeria facing a foreign exchange crisis and seeking to limit capital outflows, with the local currency, the Naira, reaching a historic low on Wednesday.
On February 26, two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained by Nigerian authorities on charges related to money laundering and financing terrorism. _ (Dramatically, the latter later successfully escaped from custody)_
In March, according to media reports, the Nigerian government planned to sue Binance for at least $10 billion, claiming that Binance profited through “illegal trading,” harming national interests. It was reported that Binance was under investigation in Nigeria, and the exchange had removed the Nigerian currency, the Naira, from its peer-to-peer services. Additionally, according to local news media reports, a Nigerian court ordered Binance to provide the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with comprehensive information on all individuals trading on its platform in the country. Previously, it was reported that Nigeria demanded Binance to hand over information on the country’s top 100 users and all transaction histories from the past six months.
From this move, it is hard not to suspect that Nigeria's detention of Binance executives may have been motivated by ideas of “collecting protection fees” or “extorting money.”
Of course, a series of subsequent actions by Nigerian authorities quickly brought about a new round of confusion—repeatedly delayed hearing times and a tumultuous local situation:
At the end of March, the Nigerian government accused Binance of laundering $35 million and announced that the “detention of Binance executives” case would have a hearing on April 4;
In early April, according to Bloomberg reports, Nigeria postponed the lawsuit against Binance executives to April 19;
On April 22, Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria, ruled to postpone the tax evasion hearing for Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan to May 17.
In May, Judge Emeka Nwite set June 14 as the date for a possible hearing for Binance and Gambaryan.
Although Binance had previously stated in April: “Tigran Gambaryan is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance's management. Binance urges that during discussions between Binance and Nigerian government officials, Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, should not be held accountable.” However, Nigerian authorities continued to pursue the matter, and in May, the Nigerian Ministry of Information claimed it would investigate the CEO of Binance's alleged $150 million bribery claim.
The turning point in the situation occurred in June.
On one hand, after the “detention of Binance executives” incident, Uwakwe, head of the relevant community working group in Nigeria's blockchain sector, stated that investors were concerned about the potential impact of investing in local Web3 companies, fearing a fate similar to that of Binance. He pointed out that parties that had already invested were gradually withdrawing their investments.
On the other hand, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria withdrew the tax charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla which had been filed, while the relevant executives remained in prison, with the trial scheduled for June 20. Notably, prior to this, Tigran Gambaryan was suspected of contracting malaria and was in serious condition.
In addition, as a former employee of a U.S. government agency, Tigran Gambaryan's detention also drew attention from the United States.
Fox Business Channel reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that U.S. Congressman French Hill, a supporter of cryptocurrency, visited detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria along with colleague Chrissy Houlahan. Gambaryan has been suffering from malaria and pneumonia during his three-month detention. Hill stated that Gambaryan was “wrongfully detained by the Nigerian government.” The two lawmakers described the difficult conditions Gambaryan was in and urged the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to lobby for his release on humanitarian grounds.
Subsequently, reports emerged that French Hill, the Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, was also leading efforts to push the Nigerian government to release detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.
Despite this, the Nigerian authorities did not directly release Gambaryan and postponed the trial for Binance's money laundering case to July 5, October, and even once delayed the bail hearing for Binance executives to October 9.
In September, Tigran Gambaryan, due to poor health, pleaded with a Nigerian judge to allow him to undergo back surgery, but his request for bail due to illness was also denied.
It wasn't until October that a group of 18 state attorneys general urged President Biden to help ensure the release of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who had been detained in Nigeria since February 2024. The Attorney General requested that Biden designate Gambaryan as a hostage under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Accountability Act. According to a joint letter issued on October 18, the organization expressed concern over Gambaryan's deteriorating health and the illegal nature of his detention. Attorney General Fumera wrote in the letter: “His continued detention without cause not only violates his rights but poses a serious threat to his health and well-being… We have a responsibility to advocate for the rights of American citizens abroad, and we urge the federal government to apply the necessary diplomatic pressure to ensure his release.”
Finally, after various negotiations, on October 23, the Nigerian government dropped all charges against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who had been facing trial in a local detention center since April. A lawyer representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the withdrawal of charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday morning.
Conclusion: Binance's Global Expansion Will Not Stop, and Cryptocurrency Development Will Continue
As Binance CEO Richard Teng stated after Gambaryan's release: “Binance remains committed to working with global regulatory agencies to ensure compliance and transparency in the ever-evolving digital asset space. We hope to put this incident behind us and continue to strive for a brighter future for the global blockchain industry. Nigeria has a young, tech-savvy population with a strong interest in digital finance, fully capable of leveraging blockchain technology to address economic and social challenges, and we look forward to playing a constructive role in this effort.”
On the long road of cryptocurrency development, there are always individuals making various efforts to promote the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency. Sometimes, when faced with a complex external environment, one must choose to “carry the burden forward.” However, the development of cryptocurrency and digital assets will not stop because of this; instead, it will become more resilient and accelerate its pace.
Gambaryan is just a microcosm and representative of industry professionals dedicated to building the cryptocurrency sector, and in the future, more cryptocurrency builders will continue to forge ahead, allowing the brilliance of decentralized networks to shine on more lands and nations.
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