Binance Holdings Limited, a cryptocurrency exchange embroiled in a tussle with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has clarified that its employee who is still being held in custody has no decision-making power as he is not part of Binance Management.
It would be recalled that two employees of Binance, Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambaryan, were arrested in February over alleged money laundering.
They were detained in Abuja in ‘a safe house’ until Anjarwalla mysteriously escaped from detention and left the country on March 22.
In a statement, Binance stated that Gambaryan who is still in custody is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance management.
The firm stated that since leaving official service of the US government, he has remained fully committed to the role of law enforcement officer ever since, operating as a global advocate for good governance and transparent regulatory financial practices.
The crypto firm’s statement read: “Gambaryan was hired in 2021 to help Binance fix past compliance issues. As the head of Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team, he has been a strong advocate for Binance to develop policies and build compliance capabilities that set new industry standards.
“In 2022 and 2023, Gambaryan’s Financial Crime Compliance team assisted global law enforcement in freezing and seizing more than $2.2B worth of assets, including more than $285M in cooperation with United States Agencies like the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and others.
“In the past several years, he, along with his FCC team, responded to more than 600 information requests coming from Nigerian law enforcement agencies or related to investigations pertinent to Nigeria.
“The information provided helped tackle crimes ranging from scams and fraud to money laundering, blackmail, kidnapping, and extortion, leading to multiple asset freezes and seizures, totaling more than $400,000 USD.”
Binance stated further that “Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.”