Binance exec shares details about his release from Nigerian detention
Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive who was held in Nigeria for eight months in 2024 facing tax and money laundering charges, provided additional details about his experience and what led to his release.
Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 26, Gambaryan, the head of financial crime compliance at Binance, said the Nigerian government had held him hostage, suggesting the criminal charges were a pretext to “get something” from Binance. According to the Binance executive, he saw signs suggesting he could be released “around a month” before he was returned to the US.
“It was around the time of the [United Nations] General Assembly in 2024 happened is when that pressure really ramped up against the Nigerian government, and it realized that I was more of a liability,” said Gambaryan. “Before that, they kinda saw me as an asset they could use to get their billions out of Binance.”
Tigran Gambaryan speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 26. Source: Rumble
Since his handover to US authorities in October, Gambaryan has made few public statements concerning his detention and release. The Binance executive’s family and reports from Nigeria suggested that his health deteriorated after he was initially placed into custody in February, including issues from pneumonia, malaria, and a herniated disc.
From arrest to release
Gambaryan and Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla flew into Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja on Feb. 25 to discuss the crypto exchange’s activities. Nigerian authorities had reportedly been scrutinizing “suspicious flows” through Binance’s local arm and detained both men on Feb. 26.
While Gambaryan was being held, Binance announced it would discontinue services using the Nigerian naira, effectively exiting the country’s market. Nigeria’s Economic Financial Crime Commission later charged the two executives with money laundering, to which Gambaryan pleaded not guilty.
Related: Binance suspends staffer after internal investigation into insider trading
He was denied bail and sent to Kuje Prison, where his family reported he began suffering from health problems — a video released in September showed Gambaryan struggling to walk to court, prompting outrage from many supporters. After numerous calls from lawmakers and government officials for his release and delays in court, Gambaryan was returned to the United States on Oct. 23.
“Hopefully, those that did this will one day face justice,” said Gambaryan at the DC Blockchain Summit, referring to Nigerian authorities.
A March 13 statement that appeared to be from Nigeria’s Ministry of Information claimed Gambaryan’s description of his detention was “baseless” and “without merit.” Cointelegraph reached out to Nigerian officials for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to “reject the path of least resistance” and consider increasing taxes in the budget.
The Institute for Government (IfG), a leading think tank, said Labour’s “rash” and “unrealistic” approach to tax has left the chancellor reaching for “piecemeal changes”.
Politics Hub: Follow the latest political news
The government has repeatedly said it will not increase VAT rates, income tax or national insurance at the budget in November.
But a report by the think tank calls on Ms Reeves to commit to serious tax reform, instead of reaching for an “eclectic grab bag of tax raisers”, which could further complicate the system.
It comes after the Resolution Foundation proposed a 2p cut in national insurance, matched by a 2p rise in income tax, to create a “level playing field” and protect workers’ pay.
Tory shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said Ms Reeves was “preparing even more tax rises, set to hit families already struggling and choke off jobs at the very moment we need them most”.
She added: “Every Labour government ends the same way, with more people out of work, higher taxes and a bigger black hole in the public finances.”
Read more from Sky News:
Government loses appeal to challenge asylum seeker’s deportation block
Davey warns Farage wants to turn Britain into ‘Trump’s America’
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Is Britain heading towards a new financial crisis?
Ms Whately’s remarks came as the government announced a £25m funding boost for the expansion of youth hubs.
The Premier League has joined forces with Labour to support the expansion, with top football clubs signing up to help get more young people into work.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden will be speaking to Sky News Breakfast about the plans this morning.
Scrapping two-child benefit limit would reduce child poverty, report suggests
Meanwhile, a report has suggested scrapping the controversial two-child benefit limit would reduce child poverty, but not necessarily help with a youngster’s early development and their readiness for school.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) concluded the policy has “no statistically significant impact” on the proportion of children in England achieving what is known as a “good level of development” by age five.
The two-child limit, which was announced by the Conservatives in 2015 and came into effect in 2017, limits child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
The government is expected to publish a strategy to tackle child poverty this autumn and has been under pressure to scrap the policy, which charities and organisations working in the sector estimate pulls more than 100 children a day into poverty.
Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz says US crypto legislation will unleash new market participation, which could break the traditional four-year cycle.
US Commodity Futures Trading Commission acting chair Caroline Pham said her agency is looking to allow derivatives traders to post stablecoins and tokenized assets as collateral.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment12 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024