A recent exchange between Nigerian officials and Binance representatives has revealed that Nigerian authorities pressured Binance to sign an undisclosed agreement on cryptocurrency payments.
This reportedly happened during a meeting in early 2024.
Richard Teng, CEO of #Binance , spoke out about the situation, particularly the detention of Tigran Gambarian, a former US Internal Revenue Service agent and current head of Binance's financial crimes team. Mr. Gambarian was detained in Nigeria while on a business trip.
Mr. Teng said the incident reflects the risks global companies can face when operating overseas and is a troubling precedent.
In a statement, Mr. Teng condemned the Nigerian government's action in detaining Mr. Gambarian and another employee, saying it "sets a dangerous new precedent for all companies around the world.
He explained that Binance is actively engaging with Nigerian officials, participating in regulatory discussions and making efforts to work with law enforcement to resolve any issues in a transparent manner.
The incident escalated after Binance was invited to a hearing by the chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Crimes (HCFC).
Despite Binance's willingness to publicly respond to any allegations, the company cited a lack of detailed information about the allegations and requested a written response - a proposal that is still awaiting a response from the committee.
During those discussions, Binance employees were approached by unidentified individuals and offered to secretly deal with the allegations using #cryptocurrency , demanding a large payment within 48 hours.
According to Teng, the terms were presented by HCFC agents to local lawyers who emphasized the confidentiality and urgency of the deal. Binance rejected the offer and continued to seek a diplomatic solution to the problem.
However, the situation worsened when Nigerian officials detained Mr. Gambarian and Mr.
Read us at: Compass Investments