••Tigray Gambaryan alleges political motivations behind his detention and accusations against Binance.
By Chinedu Moses, Lagos.
Tigran Gambaryan, Head of Finance and Compliance at Binance in the United States, has accused the Nigerian government of using the cryptocurrency platform as a scapegoat for the negative consequences of President Bola Tinubu’s Naira devaluation policy.
In a lengthy statement posted on his official X account on Friday, Gambaryan detailed his experience in Nigerian custody during 2024, claiming that Binance, he, and Nadeem Anjarwalla faced undue hardship.
Gambaryan asserts that while Binance was accused of manipulating the Naira’s price, the currency’s devaluation was a direct result of Tinubu’s monetary policy, specifically the floating of the Naira in June 2023. He argues that this policy decision, which removed government intervention, inevitably led to the Naira’s depreciation against the US dollar.
“They tried to use us to violate international privacy laws by demanding user data on all Nigerians to target opposition members allegedly ‘manipulating the price of the naira’,” Gambaryan wrote. “However, they all knew that the naira’s devaluation was a direct result of Bola Tinubu’s monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar. I’m not saying this policy decision was wrong, but everyone understood that removing government intervention would lead to extreme devaluation. Instead of acknowledging this, they used Binance as a scapegoat.”
Gambaryan previously accused National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu of soliciting a bribe to fund his political ambitions and alleged that some Nigerian lawmakers demanded a $150 million bribe.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were detained upon arrival in Nigeria on February 26, 2024. Anjarwalla later escaped from custody, while Gambaryan remained detained and was subsequently charged with financial crimes. This followed allegations by Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso that $26 billion was funneled through Binance without a trace. The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) then arraigned Binance, Gambaryan, and Anjarwalla on charges of money laundering and financial crimes.
However, months later, the Nigerian government dropped the charges against Gambaryan and Binance, and a court ordered his release in October 2024.
