Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that Tigran Gambaryan, the company's head of financial crime compliance, is being used as a "tool" by the Nigerian government to charge Binance with crimes. Teng shared his statement in a June 17 episode of the Bankless podcast.
"Tigran has now been detained for more than 90 days," said Teng. "There are policymakers in the U.S. that have said he has been detained unnecessarily. We will always try to solve problems that we have, problems with any government - that is a function of what we do as a company. But Tigran shouldn't be used as a tool for unnecessary charges."
According to Teng, Gambaryan has been detained for more than 90 days. He said returning Gambaryan safely to his family is a high priority for Binance, and the company is working closely with the Nigerian government to secure his release.
Nigerian government officials invited Gambaryan to meet with them for policy discussions in February, according to a post authored by Teng on Binance's website. However, Gambaryan was detained on February 26, and his phone and passport were confiscated. He remains in detention and is now facing criminal charges. "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," Teng said in the post. He added that Gambaryan is innocent and needs to be released.
Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service has dropped the tax evasion charge against Gambaryan, CoinDesk reported. However, he still faces a money laundering charge from Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Gambaryan collapsed in court on May 23 due to deteriorating health. He is suffering from malaria and reportedly has also contracted pneumonia. Justice Emeka Nwite ordered for Gambaryan to be moved from prison to a hospital, but prison authorities delayed for eleven days before bringing him in for a check-up. The results of that check-up have not yet been released to Gambaryan's family. "We really need the U.S. government to intervene more forcefully for the immediate release of an innocent American citizen," said Yuki Gambaryan in a statement. "This has gone on too long and Tigran's life is at risk."
For ten years, Gambaryan was a U.S. federal agent who investigated cases related to "national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations," according to Binance’s website. Binance hired him in 2021 to help fix historical compliance issues; in 2022 and 2023, his team assisted law enforcement agencies around the world in freezing and seizing more than $2.2 billion worth of assets. The book "Tracers in the Dark" describes Gambaryan's career as a preeminent cyber crimes investigator.
Before joining Binance in August 2021, Teng served as CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and director of corporate finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
