When Tigran Gambarian, head of compliance at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, flew to Nigeria on a business trip in late February, he packed two days worth of clothing into a small suitcase.
Gambarian, a former U.S. law enforcement officer, knew the trip was dangerous. Just a few weeks ago, he and a group of his colleagues rushed out of Nigeria out of fear of being detained by local authorities, according to five people familiar with the trip. This time, he promised his wife “in and out.”
A month and a half later, Mr. Gambarian is being held at Kuje Prison in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The prison has been housing Islamic State militants and Boko Haram fighters.
After meeting with government officials in Abuja on February 26, Gambariyan, 39, and his Binance colleague Nadeem Anjarwala were suddenly taken to a guest house run by Nigerian security services, without formal charges being filed against them. was detained for nearly a month. filed a lawsuit against them.
Then, late last month, Anjarwala, the company's head of Africa, fled under mysterious circumstances. Initial reports said he fled Nigeria after security allowed him to leave his guesthouse for Ramadan prayers.
Within days of their escape, the Nigerian government accused Gambariyan, Anjarwala, and Binance itself of tax evasion and money laundering, effectively charging the company and two mid-level employees with the same crimes.
This account of Gambarian's detention in Nigeria is based on interviews with more than a dozen Nigerian officials, crypto compliance experts, and others familiar with the situation, many of whom are concerned about legally sensitive matters. He requested anonymity to discuss the matter.
In a statement on April 3, Binance denied that Gambarian had “decision-making authority” within the company, saying, “During ongoing discussions between Binance and Nigerian government officials, They should not be held responsible.”
Binance spokesperson Brad Jaffe said the company has “great respect” for the Nigerian government and continues to “consult in good faith at all levels.”
Gambarian's arrest is the latest flashpoint in years of legal troubles for Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Last year, the company agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine to resolve charges by multiple U.S. government agencies that it violated economic sanctions against Syria, Cuba, and Iran while allowing criminal activity to flourish on its platform. Since then, it has been undergoing reconstruction.
The case also highlights how the cryptocurrency industry, built on technology originally designed to circumvent the global financial system, still struggles to stay on the right side of law enforcement around the world. is shown. In November, Binance founder Qiao Changpeng resigned as chief executive officer and pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in the United States.
Binance replaced Chao with former Singaporean regulator Richard Teng and continued to operate around the world, but with reduced headcount as it laid off 3,000 of its roughly 8,000 employees last year.
Around the time of the leadership change, Binance wanted to work with the Nigerian government on efforts to monitor crypto transactions for financial crimes. But those discussions soured after Nigerian authorities expressed suspicions that Binance was committing some of the same crimes the US was investigating.
Nigeria, one of Africa's largest economies, has recently become a hotspot for digital currencies. According to data firm Chainalysis, India has the second highest cryptocurrency adoption rate in the world after India. Some Nigerians are turning to cryptocurrencies as an alternative to the local currency, which has depreciated significantly over the past two years.
A weightlifter who practices martial arts in his spare time, Gambarian spent his childhood in Armenia before moving to Fresno, California, as a preteen. He currently lives in the Atlanta suburbs with his wife and his two young children.
Binance hired Gambarian in 2021 to address compliance issues, eventually appointing him head of its financial crime compliance team.
By the time he traveled to Nigeria, Gambarian had become one of the company's most prominent non-executive employees. He spoke at conferences, used his background as a former law enforcement officer to help rebuild Binance as a law-abiding financial company, and met with government officials around the world. He liked to talk about his time as a criminal investigator at the Treasury Department, where he was part of a team investigating crimes related to the dark web market Silk Road. His friends and colleagues described him as fearless and proud of his government service.
In early January, Gambarian traveled to Abuja to meet with Nigerian authorities as part of a delegation of Binance employees concerned that the company was evading taxes and violating anti-money laundering rules.
The trip quickly turned terrifying, according to six people familiar with the trip. On January 8, a Binance delegation met with a group of Nigerian lawmakers and read out a list of charges against the company, including tax violations, three people said. The Binance delegation asked how the government's concerns could be resolved.
Peter Anyekwe, a Nigerian lawmaker who attended the meeting, said in an interview that he and his colleagues had instructed Binance employees to consult the Nigerian tax authorities about the amount of the company's debts.
One lawmaker then suggested the delegation was at risk of being detained. “We told them they had better settle down or they might not leave Nigeria,” Anyekwe said.
Anyekwe said this was intended as a casual comment and not an explicit threat, as MPs do not have the power to arrest people.
Still, employees felt anxious. That night, a local Nigerian lawyer working with Binance told delegates the cost of resolving the company's legal issues in Nigeria could exceed $100 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said. Three people spoke.
Sources said Gambarian and others feared for their safety and cut short their trip and flew out of Nigeria.
But just a month and a half later, Gambarian returned.
Decision-making by Binance officials regarding the return trip was chaotic, and it was not clear who made the final decision. Friends and colleagues implored Mr. Gambarian not to go, according to three people familiar with the discussions. He said he felt an obligation to return and believed he could mend relations with Nigerian officials, according to people familiar with his thinking.
The discussion also reached Binance management, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Before Gambarian left, Binance was assured of his safety by local authorities and hired a security firm to assist him in his travels in Abuja, the people said.
But tensions were running high. Days before Gambayan’s return, Nigeria’s Presidential Adviser Bayo Onanuga said: binance defendant About the promotion of trade that contributed to the collapse of the national currency, the naira.
Only one other Binance employee was with Gambarian. Mr. Anjalwala was also part of the January delegation. On February 26, they met with officials from Nigeria's financial regulator and other government agencies. Binance did not send a lawyer to accompany the meeting, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
The discussion turned hostile. Nigerian authorities had asked Binance to hand over a wide range of customer data, but the company was unwilling to comply with the request, according to three people familiar with the negotiations.
Hours later, Nigerian authorities took Gambariyan and Anjarwala to a hotel and told them to pack their belongings, family members said. Then they were taken to a guest house. The guesthouse is a secure compound near the headquarters of Nigeria's National Security Adviser. “You are now our guests,” Nigerian officials told them, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Nigerian authorities confiscated Gambariyan and Anjarwala's passports, but they were able to keep their mobile phones and contact family and colleagues. No criminal charges were filed, but a district court issued an order allowing authorities to detain Mr. Gambariyan and Mr. Anjarwala pending an investigation.
They stayed for several weeks in a part of the house that had two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen. A person familiar with the situation said security guards with AK-47s were stationed nearby.
In an interview with the BBC in early March, presidential aide Onanuga said the Nigerian government was demanding nearly $10 billion from Binance “in retaliation because it really disrupted our economy in a very short period of time.” He said he was there. (In an interview with the New York Times, Onanuga said he meant Binance “may” have to pay such an amount and speculated on the amount of the potential fine.)
Lawyers for Gambariyan and Anjarwala learned on March 22 that Nigeria was preparing to personally charge them with criminal violations as part of its lawsuit against Binance, the families said. The next morning, Mr. Gambarian woke up and discovered that Mr. Anjalwala was missing, a person familiar with the matter said.
It is unclear how Anjalwala managed to escape. Local newspapers reported that Anjarwala, who holds dual Kenyan and British citizenship, left Nigeria using a Kenyan passport after surrendering his British passport. According to the report, the guards escorted the man to a nearby mosque during Ramadan on March 22, but then he somehow slipped away.
Anjarwala's representative said he left Nigeria “by lawful means”.Spokesperson for the Nigerian National Security Adviser Said The country's security services were working to obtain an international arrest warrant for him.
“Those responsible for detaining the suspects have been arrested,” the spokesperson said.
After fleeing, Nigerian authorities seized Gambarian's mobile phone. On March 25, he, Anjalwala, and Binance were indicted on money laundering, tax evasion, and other charges. The judge ordered Mr Gambarian to be taken to Kuje, where the Islamic State group staged a dramatic prison break in 2022 to free hundreds of fighters.
Gambarian's family, friends and colleagues are lobbying U.S. authorities to secure his release. “We need to make it clear that this type of injustice will not be tolerated,” Gambarian's wife, Yuki, said in an interview.
A White House official, requesting anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic matter, said the administration was working with the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to resolve the situation.
Gambarian has a lawyer representing him in Nigeria and is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing on Monday, a family spokesperson said. Gambarian filmed a video of himself in the courtyard of the guesthouse before being taken away by Kuje.
“Guys, I did nothing wrong,” he said. “I have been a police officer all my life. I just ask the Nigerian government to release me.”
julian burns and Ruth MacLean Contributed to the report.