Binance executive: Nigerian government demanded citizens’ data to target opposition members

Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, has accused the Nigerian government of demanding citizens’ data from the cryptocurrency firm in a bid to target members of opposition political parties.

In a post published via X on Friday, Gambaryan narrated some of his experiences in the hands of Nigeria’s law enforcement.

Gambaryan was detained by the Nigerian government from February 2024 to October 2024 over the activities of Binance in the country.

Speaking about his ordeal, the Binance executive said the federal government scapegoated the cryptocurrency firm for the decline of the naira in the foreign exchange market.

Gambaryan said the federal government knew that naira devaluation was the “direct result of Tinubu’s monetary policy” but blamed Binance for it all.

“They tried to use us (Binance) to violate international privacy laws by demanding user data on all Nigerians to target opposition members allegedly ‘manipulating the price of the naira’,” he said.

“However, they all knew that the naira’s devaluation was a direct result of Tinubu’s monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar.

“I’m not saying this policy decision was wrong, but everyone understood that removing government intervention would lead to extreme devaluation. Instead of acknowledging this, they used Binance as a scapegoat.”

He added that the narrative that Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance regional manager for Africa, escaped from custody during mosque prayers is untrue.

“They lied about Nadeem escaping during mosque prayers. In reality, he returned and escaped afterward. I don’t know exactly how he managed to flee,” he said.

“They also detained innocent EFCC detectives who weren’t even present when Nadeem ‘escaped’.

“If anyone should have been detained, it was Belloji (EFCC operative) for multiple basic law enforcement failures, and incompetence.”

BACKGROUND

In February 2024, the federal government detained Anjarwalla and Gambaryan over allegations of money laundering and tax evasion.

The two Binance executives were arrested after they travelled to Nigeria for a meeting with officials of the federal government.

The federal government had accused the cryptocurrency firm of manipulating FX rates in Nigeria and destroying the country’s economy.

After the arrests, the government instituted money laundering and tax evasion charges against the cryptocurrency firm.

The company kicked against the detention of its officials.

In March 2024, Anjarwalla escaped from the custody of the office of the national security adviser (ONSA), leaving only Gambaryan to face the charges.

In May 2024, Richard Teng, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO), alleged that some unknown persons in Nigeria demanded $150 million in digital currency to make their problems in the country “go away”.

Reacting to the allegation, the federal government accused Binance of blackmail.

Gambaryan was repeatedly dragged to court to face charges despite pleas for his release.

His wife also wrote letters to the federal government pleading that her husband be released on the basis of his “deteriorating health”.

In October 2024, the federal government dropped the money laundering charges against Gambaryan — a move that was initiated after the US government intervened.

Subsequently, the Binance executive was allowed to leave Nigeria.