Money
Nigeria Releases American Crypto Executive After Dropping Money Laundering Case
Washington — An American cryptocurrency executive who had been detained in Nigeria for the previous eight months has been released after officials there announced they were discontinuing his money laundering trial on health and diplomatic reasons.
According to a statement released Thursday by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s chief of financial crime compliance, was released on humanitarian parole and will return to the United States for medical treatment.
“I am grateful to my Nigerian colleagues and partners for the productive discussions that have resulted in this step and look forward to working closely with them on the many areas of cooperation and collaboration critical to the bilateral partnership between our two countries,” according Sullivan.
Nigeria Releases American Crypto Executive After Dropping Money Laundering Case
Gambaryan was arrested in February during a business trip to Nigeria, along with Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s regional manager in Africa, who escaped custody and is still at large.
Nigerian officials accused Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and Gambaryan of exploiting the site to launder up to $35 million and manipulate the local naira currency, which they reject.
Nigeria has Africa’s largest crypto economy regarding trade volume, with many citizens using cryptocurrency to protect their wallets from rising inflation and a weakening local currency.
However, as its user base increased and the government attempted to stabilize the currency, officials publicly accused the platform of being used to launder money and fuel terrorism, forcing it to suspend all trading using the local currency on its platform.
R.U. Adaba, a prosecution lawyer with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday that the government was closing the case after “taking into consideration some critical international and diplomatic reasons.”
Binance is still facing charges for tax evasion and operating without a license.
Nigeria Releases American Crypto Executive After Dropping Money Laundering Case
Gambaryan’s trial has been fraught with controversy, including claims that he and a coworker were unjustly imprisoned and their passports taken. Binance also claimed that Nigerian officials sought money to release him and Anjarwalla.
Gambaryan’s health deteriorated while his legal proceedings dragged on. The court in Abuja denied him bail twice after a judge determined that he was a flight risk and should remain in the capital’s Kuje jail.
SOURCE | AP
