Nigerian officials sought secret crypto settlement, Binance CEO says

Binance CEO Richard Teng claims officials in Nigeria approached the exchange’s team and offered a secret crypto settlement proposal.

Teng shared details of this shocking development in a blog post that highlights the ongoing legal troubles around Binance official Tigran Gambaryan. The Binance chief’s comments comes as news from Nigeria say the government is planning to ban naira from all peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms in the country.

My friend and colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, has been unlawfully detained by the Nigerian government for more than 70 days. We're tirelessly working to #BringTigranHome.

For the first time publicly, I'm sharing the full context of this situation here. ⤵️https://t.co/Rg3DEYJZgW

— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) May 7, 2024

Binance CEO on Nigeria’s crypto landscape

On May 7, Richard Teng, who replaced former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, wrote about why Tigran Gambaryan is innocent and should be released. The US national headed Binance’s compliance team and has been detained in Nigeria since February.

But before the twist of events that led to the former IRS official’s arrest, there had been another saga – Nigerian officials allegedly attempted to milk a secret settlement from a Binance delegation.

Teng says the incident happened early this year and involved a demand for settlement paid in cryptocurrency.

According to the Binance CEO, the unsettling events that have unfolded in Nigeria and involving the exchange’s officials began in May 2022. This is when Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its crypto regulations, bringing the sector under its regulatory purview.

However, with no clear rules and guidelines in place, no virtual asset service providers have received licences under the new regulations.

Teng slams “dangerous precedent”

On January 8 this year, Gambaryan and other Binance employees met with members of the House Committee on Financial Crimes (HCFC).

While the meeting initially targeted at bringing Binance and regulators towards regulatory clarity, it failed to achieve that and lawmakers threatened to arrest Binance officials, including the then new CEO Teng.  

It’s after these developments that Teng alleges individuals approached its representatives with the settlement proposal.

The demand was that if Binance paid up with 48 hours, the concerned parties would “make these issues go away.” Accusations include money laundering and tax evasion.

Binance reportedly rejected the proposal and an “increasingly concerned” team immediately left Nigeria.

In February, Tigran and Nadeem Anjarwalla (head of Binance Africa) travelled to Nigeria and were arrested.

Commenting on Gambaryan’s detention, Teng says it sets “a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”

Meanwhile, amid the regulatory woes and detention of its officials, Binance has delisted the naira from its P2P platform in the country. The exchange also disclosed demands by authorities seeking Binance to hand over personal data and other details of all users in Nigeria.

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