The Nigerian government has recently turned its attention to Binance and has forcibly detained two Binance executives. After one executive escaped, the other executive, Tigran Gambaryan, who is responsible for Binance’s financial crime compliance department, has recently filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government, accusing the country of human rights violations and demanding immediate release.
In the past month, the Nigerian government has banned exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase and accused Binance of “manipulating exchange rates,” leading to a 70% devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the Naira, and also being involved in money laundering. Two Binance executives went to Nigeria in late February to seek negotiations with the authorities but were detained by the Nigerian government.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, the 38-year-old Binance regional manager for Africa with dual British and Kenyan citizenship, has escaped from detention and left Nigeria. However, Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, is still being detained.
However, according to local media reports, Tigran Gambaryan has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government, requesting the Federal High Court of Nigeria to order the National Security Adviser’s Office (ONSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to apologize for his detention.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, who has already left the country, has also filed a similar lawsuit. Tigran Gambaryan argued in the motion that shortly after his arrival in February, he was detained by Nigerian authorities and had his passport confiscated, which violated the Nigerian constitution that guarantees individual freedom.
He accused the Nigerian government of using his detention as a means of pressuring Binance and insisting on its demands. The motion emphasized that Nigeria could communicate with Binance through other channels instead of detaining him, who had only attended one meeting. He requested the court to order his immediate release and force the authorities to return his passport and issue a public apology.
According to Cointelegraph, during the court hearing, Tigran Gambaryan’s lawyer informed Judge Inyang Ekwo that the motion had been conveyed to the defendants, and they still had time to respond. The lawyer requested an adjournment to allow ONSA and EFCC to respond, and the judge approved the adjournment. The case will be heard on April 8.
Will the escaped executive be arrested again? The Nigerian government’s tax evasion case against Binance and the two executives is scheduled to be heard in the Federal High Court of Nigeria on April 4. Meanwhile, the Nigerian government plans to seek the assistance of Interpol to re-arrest Nadeem Anjarwalla and bring him back to Nigeria for trial.
Previously, Binance responded to the Nigerian accusations by stating that it had always been law-abiding and had substantial cooperation with the Nigerian government, including actively cooperating with relevant investigations related to financial crimes and assisting in training investigators. Binance also emphasized its commitment to continuous cooperation with Nigerian law enforcement agencies to promote responsible growth.
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