FG Extends The Executive’s Detention For 14 Days To Aid Investigations
By: Onome Ose
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, initially received approval to detain the pair for 14 days to aid investigations.
Nigerian authorities have reportedly detained two high-profile Binance executives as part of the government’s intensified efforts to stabilize the nation’s foreign exchange market and salvage the value of the local currency. Nigerian authorities have reportedly detained two high-profile Binance executives.
The move is part of the government’s intensified efforts to stabilize the nation’s foreign exchange market and salvage the value of the local currency.
Nigerian authorities have requested an Abuja court to extend the detention of two Binance executives.
Nigeria’s anti-graft agency initially received approval to detain the pair for 14 days to aid investigations.
Lawyers for the two executives argue that there are no justifiable reasons for their continued detention.
Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance and a U.S. citizen, along with Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa and a British-Kenyan, traveled to Nigeria after the country banned several cryptocurrency trading websites. However, upon their arrival on Feb. 26, they were arrested by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
They have not been charged with any crime. Lawyers for the two executives argue that there are no justifiable reasons for their continued detention.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, stated in a post on X that it was working with Nigerian authorities to repatriate its executives.
Binance Nigeria facilitated transactions exceeding $26 billion from unidentified sources in one year.
The two executives traveled to Nigeria after the recent ban of Binance and several cryptocurrency trading platforms to halt what it described as continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds.
Upon arrival, they were apprehended by the office of the national security adviser, who also confiscated their passports.
Yemi Cardoso, Nigeria’s central bank governor, during the monetary policy meeting earlier this week, stated that Binance Nigeria has facilitated transactions exceeding $26 billion from unidentified sources in one year.
Reason for the detention
Nigerian authorities requested Binance executives to provide data relating to transactions involving the Nigerian Naira on the Binance platform in the last seven years. They also demanded that some other data relating to Nigeria be deleted from the Binance platform.
However, the Binance executives insisted that they should be taken to their respective countries’ embassies before they could comply.
As of Wednesday, the complete identities of the two Binance executives remain unclear. However, according to the information gathered, one of them is American, and the other is British-Pakistani.
The Nigerian government has secured a court warrant to detain the officials for at least twelve days in the first instance.
A source familiar with the situation told our reporter that the investigation has been transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Meanwhile, the two executives are being held at a guest house near the Office of the National Security Adviser.
In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the operation of Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Binance, was illegal. Despite the warning by the regulatory agency, the firm continued its operation.
The crackdown comes after numerous cryptocurrency platforms became popular choices for trading the Nigerian currency, which has been affected by persistent dollar shortages.
According to Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria from unknown sources. The government hit the exchange with a $10 billion fine amidst a crypto exchange probe. However, the crypto exchange has refuted any awareness of this fine.
The cryptocurrency exchange announced the discontinuation of all services in Nigeria involving the local fiat currency on March 8, the Nigerian naira (NGN).
In a recent development, the government has reportedly ordered the exchange to reveal its top 100 users in the country and release all transaction history over the past 6 months as part of its investigations into the activities of the exchange.
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