Key takeaways:
- Tigran Gambaryan, an executive with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance based in the United States, is accused of tax evasion in Nigeria.
- Binance pulled out of the Nigerian market on March 5th, announcing that it planned to stop accepting naira transactions.
Tigran Gambaryan, an executive with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance based in the United States, is accused of tax evasion in Nigeria; his hearing has apparently been postponed until April 19.
Gambaryan’s case has been postponed for two weeks, but he will reportedly stay in Nigerian jail as authorities pursue charges against the cryptocurrency exchange and two officials, according to a Bloomberg report from April 4.
Following allegations that the exchange had manipulated the naira, the nation’s fiat currency, Gambaryan traveled to Nigeria in February with Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla.
Binance basically pulled out of the Nigerian market on March 5, announcing that it planned to stop accepting naira transactions.
Authorities seized Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, who were in Nigeria at the time of the announcement. According to reports, they could be charged with money laundering and tax evasion.
Nigerian authorities have brought up charges against the transaction, which was allegedly postponed until April 8, and Gambaryan; however, Anjarwalla is said to have fled from detention on March 22 and managed to board a flight out of the country’s capital, Abuja.
Gambaryan’s wife started a petition with 1,719 signatures in an attempt to get him returned to the United States. In her plea, Yuki Gambaryan asked for:
“It is deeply ironic that he is being charged with the crimes he spent his life fighting,”
Gambaryan has “no decision-making power in the company,” according to a blog post published by Binance on April 3. The statement further asked that Gambaryan not be held accountable for the exchange’s operations in Nigeria.
After entering into a $4.3 billion settlement with authorities, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao admitted guilt to one criminal count and is still residing in the United States. On April 30, he is anticipated to get a sentence.
