Trends
Binance CEO opposes Nigeria’s detention of executives
Nigeria detains Binance executives, Binance CEO objects and challenges trial and calls on the Nigerian authorities to release them.
Headline
Nigeria detains Binance executives, Binance CEO objects and challenges trial and calls on the Nigerian authorities to release them.
Context
The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance has accused Nigeria of setting a dangerous precedent as company executives are detained as part of a crackdown on cryptocurrencies. Also read: Binance founder’s $33bln fortune still growing despite prison
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
Richard Teng, chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance , said in a statement that it was time to speak out against the detention of Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance. Another executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, is a British Kenyan who was a regional manager for Africa and fled Nigeria in March this year. Teng noted that inviting mid-level employees of a company to a cooperation policy meeting only to have them detained sets a dangerous new precedent for all companies globally. He added that Gambaryan had been detained in Nigeria for more than two months “on spurious grounds”. Despite Binance’s announcement in early March that it was halting all naira trading, the other side has yet to release the detained executives.
Key Points
- Binance CEO, Richard Teng, has accused Nigeria of opposing the detention of two executives.
- The two detained executives are facing trial for tax evasion and money laundering, respectively, which Binance disputes.
- Binance announced in early March it was stopping all transactions and trading in naira. But the other party has yet to release the detained executives.
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
