On July 5th, Nigerian prosecutors continued the case against Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive arrested in February by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The conflict that began over allegations of currency manipulation has grown into a significant legal battle between Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Nigerian authorities.
Inception of Issues
Trading issues involving USDT for naira on Binance P2P on February 20 revealed that Nigerian users were about to face larger problems. In response to this, Binance limited Tether purchase with naira, disabled the buying option and set a 1,802 naira to USD exchange rate claiming to address fraud.
The Nigerian authorities restricted access to popular trading platforms, including Binance, due to manipulation of the local currency and money laundering, as Binance stated.
After this, two officials of Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, was arrested in Abuja, while the Office of the National Security Adviser continues an investigation.
On the March 5, Binance halted all Nigerian naira services including deposits, withdrawals and removal of trading pairs using naira, giving users up to 3 days to withdraw or convert their naira balances to USDT.
On the 18th of March, the EFCC secured an order from the court to compel Binance to provide data on its users from Nigeria because of the rising suspicion of money laundering and terrorism financing. Another inter-agency committee in Nigeria also attributed the fall of naira to forex manipulation.
Escape and Legal Progressions
On March 19, Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped custody during Ramadan prayers with his Kenyan passport, while the FIRS began criminal proceedings against Binance for tax evasion in Nigeria.
On April 8, the EFCC accused Gambaryan of money laundering, currency speculation, and tax evasion of $34 million. Despite Gambaryan’s request not to appear in court on behalf of Binance, he was taken to Kuje Correctional Center.
On May 7, Binance CEO Richard Teng stated that Gambaryan had been held for too long while Binance had shared all the necessary information with the authorities. There were reports that an unidentified Nigerian official demanded $150 million in crypto, which Binance considered as blackmail.
The Nigerian Ministry of Information spokesman Rabiu Ibrahim dismissed these bribery allegations as baseless and diversionary.
On June 4, twelve U. S. lawmakers called on President Biden to intervene to ensure Gambaryan’s release, stating that there were false charges against Gambaryan in order to exert pressure on Binance. Nigeria’s Minister of Information also spoke up for due process, pointing out that Binance earns impressive money from operations in Nigeria.
Industry Concerns: The Continuing Legal Battle of Binance
Finally, by June 14, the FIRS withdrew charges against Gambaryan and Anjarwalla while targeting Binance through Its local agent and thus relieved Gambaryan from any further appearances before the court.
The Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN) expressed concerns about the potentially damaging effects of the legal dispute on the blockchain industry in Nigeria and urged for a fair trial to restore investors’ confidence.
On July 2, in connection with his health issue, Justice Nwite ordered the Kuje Correctional Center to provide Gambaryan’s medical records. Although Gambaryan was a U.S. citizen, he had been a victim of poor medical care despite the length of his ailment.
The trial concluded the examination of witnesses in the EFCC’s case against Binance and Gambaryan and set a break until July 5th.
