Families of two Binance employees, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, are pleading for their release after they were detained by Nigerian authorities for three weeks. Despite a court hearing on March 19th that did not extend their detention, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla remain in custody.
Gambaryan, a former US federal agent specializing in cryptocurrencies, and Anjarwalla, a Kenyan executive at Binance, were reportedly detained in Abuja by the office of the National Security Adviser. According to a Financial Times report, their arrest coincided with the Nigerian government's attempt to curb the depreciation of the Naira, the national currency.
The families claim the detentions are baseless, as neither man has been charged with a crime. Lawyers representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) requested a renewed detention order at the Abuja court hearing, but the judge did not grant it. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for April 5th.
"Their continued detention means they will miss important milestones in their children's lives," a family representative stated. "Nadeem's son celebrates his first birthday tomorrow, and Tigran's son turns five on April 5th."
This incident follows a separate Nigerian court order compelling Binance to share comprehensive data on all Nigerian users with the EFCC. The judge granted this order based on allegations of money laundering and terrorism financing on the platform.
The Nigerian government's actions raise concerns about due process and potentially signal a wider crackdown on cryptocurrency activity in the country.
Play audio
No comments