Detained Binance executives will remain in custody in Nigeria during court hearings

Mar 14, 2024
The heads of Binance Nigeria, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadim Anjarwalla, will remain in custody at least until the extension of the court hearings, which will take place on March 20. At the same time, neither the head of the department for combating financial crimes, Sapse Gambaryan, nor the former regional manager of the exchange in Africa, Anjarwalla, were charged with any charges.
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The men were arrested on February 26 after arriving in Abuja to meet with representatives of the Nigerian government. According to a Wall Street Journal report, citing Andjarwalla’s wife, on February 28, a Nigerian court approved the two-week detention of Binance executives pending the completion of the investigation.

A representative of Nigeria’s national security adviser told Bloomberg that the arrest of Binance’s top managers is related to the country’s national security.

According to the report, the second court hearing on Wednesday did not officially extend the detention period, but scheduled the next hearing for March 20. Nigerian officials have been given more time to respond to the arguments put forward by lawyers for Binance executives.

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, told local media that $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria last year alone. untraceable funds. The West African country is facing an ongoing currency crisis and is looking for ways to stop capital outflows.

A Binance representative said that the exchange is working with the Nigerian authorities to safely return Nadim and Tigran home to their families.