Detained Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan Seeks Justice, Sues Nigerian Government

Amid Nigeria’s crackdown on cryptocurrency activities, one of the detained Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan, has taken legal action against Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleging a violation of his basic human rights. 

Gambaryan, who serves as Binance’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, was arrested in February along with fellow Binance member Nadeem Anjarwalla. 

Executive Alleges Rights Violation In Nigerian Detention

According to local media reports, Gambaryan has filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that his detention and the confiscation of his international passport violate the provisions of the country’s constitution. 

In his legal motion, Gambaryan requested the court to order the NSA and EFCC to release him from custody and return his passport immediately. 

Binance’s Head of Financial Crimes Compliance also sought a permanent injunction to prevent the defendants and their agents from further detaining him with any investigation of the exchange’s operations in the country. 

Additionally, Gambaryan urged the court to compel the respondents to apologize to him publicly. He argued that his presence in Nigeria was to honor the invitation of the Office of the National Security Adviser and EFCC to discuss matters concerning Binance in the country.

The executive asserted that he had not committed any offense during the meeting and had not been officially informed of any personal offense committed in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the other detained Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, managed to escape from government custody approximately one month after his initial detention, as Bitcoinist reported earlier this week. 

According to the information gathered, Anjarwalla stayed with Gambaryan in a guesthouse in Abuja. During Ramadan, the guards took Anjarwalla to a nearby mosque for prayers, from which he allegedly escaped and left Abuja on a Middle Eastern airline. Anjarwalla has also filed a similar complaint with the Nigerian government.

Binance Faces Tax Evasion Charges

In a related development, the Nigerian government has filed tax evasion charges against Binance, with Anjarwalla and Gambaryan as the second and third defendants. 

The charges, submitted at the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), accuse Binance of non-payment of Value-Added Tax, Company Income Tax, failure to file tax returns, and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform. 

The government further alleges that Binance failed to register with the FIRS for tax purposes and violated existing tax regulations within the country.

The lawsuits and tax evasion charges against Binance and its executives highlight the increasing regulatory scrutiny cryptocurrency exchanges face in Nigeria. It remains to be seen how this story will unfold and the outcome. 

At present, the exchange’s native token, Binance Coin (BNB), is trading at $617. Over the past month, BNB has shown a consistent upward trend, experiencing a remarkable increase of over 47%. This surge has brought the token closer to its previous all-time high of $686, which was achieved in May 2021.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com