The Gambaryan affair and the emerging truth

The dominant narrative of Nigeria’s regulatory crackdown on Binance challenges the integrity of Nigeria’s institutions while attempting to shield those complicit in economic sabotage. At the centre of this controversy is Tigran Gambaryan, Binance Holdings Limited’s head of financial crime compliance, who was detained alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager, on 26 February 2024. Their detention has proven to be a lawful response to their refusal to cooperate with law enforcement agencies investigating how crypto exchange firms, including Binance, were undermining Nigeria’s economy and causing significant financial losses.

The trending revelations into the Binance scandal, as instigated by Premium Times in a three-part exclusive, have brought to light the immense diplomatic pressures that led to Gambaryan’s release. More importantly, they have also raised questions about the falsehoods now being peddled to discredit the Nigerian government and its officials, particularly National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu. The media houses that had ridden the wave of sensationalism, despite the obvious holes in the story, have now seen the truth as the dust settles. Even to the naïve mind, the bribery allegations against Ribadu, levelled by Gambaryan, are a deliberate smokescreen to deflect attention from the elephant in the room: the documented charge of economic sabotage, backed by substantial evidence, is not a matter of politics.

It must also be acknowledged that Gambaryan’s release, following the escape of his colleague from custody, was not actualised based on proof of innocence. He was freed due to the calculated interventions of the U.S. government, which sought to secure his release at all costs. According to Premium Times, the U.S. administration exerted significant pressure, led by Ambassador Richard Mills Jr., who formally urged Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release Gambaryan on humanitarian grounds, despite the charges of tax evasion and money laundering against him and his employer. In May 2024, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken personally raised the issue with Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, during a meeting in Washington, D.C. The newspaper also reported that in late April, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell had discussed the matter with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The high-powered intervention could not have been for an innocent party.

Despite the pressure, however, Nigeria insisted on due process. This principled stance was reinforced when the courts denied Gambaryan’s repeated bail applications, citing flight risk concerns. But the U.S. government remained relentless in its lobbying, engaging directly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, the NSA’s office, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The intensity of this engagement highlights Nigeria’s determination to enforce its laws against a backdrop of global superpower influence. If there was no proof of guilt, the U.S. government would have insisted on the path of law.

Nigeria outlined clear conditions in the negotiations leading to Gambaryan’s release: the release must be framed as a diplomatic gesture, cooperation from the U.S. in financial crime investigations must be secured, and outstanding Nigerian assets held in the U.S. should be repatriated. Nigeria took advantage of the diplomatic pressure to demand accelerated action in recovering approximately $380 million in seized assets. These include $6 million linked to an arms deal involving Ara Garabed Dolarian, $53 million from forfeited properties linked to Diezani Alison-Madueke and Jide Aluko, and $150 million in Abacha-linked assets frozen in France since 2012 following a U.S. Department of Justice request. Additionally, another asset, amounting to €140–160 million, linked to a former Nigerian governor’s family, was seized by the U.S. Nigeria’s insistence on a formal request for Gambaryan’s release—addressed to President Tinubu and copied to the NSA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Attorney General—provides concrete proof to refute the falsehoods peddled by the ungrateful Gambaryan.

If bribery allegations are to be scrutinised, they should be directed at Binance itself. In a desperate bid to secure Gambaryan’s release, Binance reportedly offered Nigeria a $5 million ‘down payment’—a fraction of its enormous unpaid tax liability. This offer, facilitated through the company’s legal representatives, was outrightly rejected by the Nigerian government. This is why it is laughable for Gambaryan, who left Nigeria on the grounds of high-powered diplomacy and not acquittal, to now accuse Nigerian government officials of soliciting bribes.
Binance’s own admissions—operating illegally in Nigeria for six years, facilitating transactions worth $21.6 billion in 2023 alone, and failing to comply with anti-money laundering laws—speak volumes about the scale of its misconduct. The company also confessed that, as of early 2024, it had at least 386,256 active users in Nigeria and generated net revenue of $35.4 million in 2023, yet with no commensurate tax returns to Nigeria. Binance has since agreed to negotiate further on the possibility of providing Nigeria with a list of the top 100 Nigerian users of its platform while also hiring two firms, Baker Tilly (accountants) and Chainalysis (blockchain experts), to help determine the company’s exact tax liability.

The allegation against Ribadu appears to be a well-orchestrated distraction, and that is what the trending revelations initiated by Premium Times show. With the facts now exposed, it is evident that Gambaryan is attempting to rewrite history—to shift focus from Binance’s illegal operations, the diplomatic pressure exerted by the U.S., and the legitimacy of Nigeria’s enforcement actions. By accusing Ribadu, he seeks to absolve himself and his company of wrongdoing while framing Nigeria as a corrupt state.

However, the facts tell a different story. The Nigerian government, in refusing Binance’s $5 million offer, has demonstrated integrity. The negotiation leading to Gambaryan’s release, while diplomatic, was in Nigeria’s best interests. Most significantly, no evidence supports his bribery claims—only the desperate words of a man trying to clear his name at the expense of the truth. The negotiation has also inspired the establishment of the U.S.-Nigeria Bilateral Liaison Group on Illicit Finance and Cryptocurrencies. These gains strengthen Nigeria’s economic and security interests.

The Gambaryan affair should serve as a lesson on the resilience of Nigeria’s institutions in the face of external pressure. Rather than bow to intimidation, the Nigerian government championed complex negotiations with strategic foresight and secured tangible benefits while upholding its legal framework. Nigeria is now battling Binance in two separate court cases. One is a $35.4 million money laundering case brought by the EFCC, in which Gambaryan and Anjarwalla are no longer defendants following an amended charge on 25 November 2024, about a month after Gambaryan was freed.

Gambaryan’s latest accusations should be dismissed as the last desperate act of a man who, having evaded justice through diplomatic pressure, now seeks to rewrite the narrative. The real story—the one supported by evidence—reveals a Nigerian government committed to economic sovereignty, the rule of law, and the national interest. As the truth emerges, it is clear that Ribadu and the Nigerian authorities have nothing to answer for—except the strength of their moral character in defending the country’s integrity.

Gata, a journalist and analyst, writes from Abuja.