A Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has alleged that the Nigerian government pressured the cryptocurrency firm to provide citizens' data to target opposition party members.
In a post on X on Friday, Gambaryan claimed that authorities sought to use Binance to violate international privacy laws under the pretence of investigating individuals "manipulating the price of the naira."
However, he argued that the naira's devaluation was a direct result of President Bola Tinubu's monetary policy, which unpegged the currency from the dollar.
"They tried to use us to violate international privacy laws by demanding user data on all Nigerians to target opposition members allegedly 'manipulating the price of the naira.' However, they all knew that the naira's devaluation was a direct result of Tinubu's monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar," he wrote.
"I'm not saying this policy decision was wrong, but everyone understood that removing government intervention would lead to extreme devaluation. Instead of acknowledging this, they used Binance as a scapegoat."
Detention and escape claims
Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained by Nigerian authorities in February 2024 over a $35 million money laundering case. While Anjarwalla escaped custody on March 22, Gambaryan was later arraigned in court on April 8. After spending eight months in detention, he finally left Nigeria on October 25, 2024.
While recounting his ordeal, Gambaryan accused Nigerian authorities of lying about Anjarwalla's escape, claiming he fled under unclear circumstances rather than during mosque prayers, and alleged they fabricated evidence to justify their detention and misled foreign embassies.
"They lied about Nadeem escaping during mosque prayers. In reality, he returned and escaped afterward. I don't know exactly how he managed to flee. He emailed me in November, but we haven't discussed the details of his escape. It's possible he paid someone off, but I have no proof. If Belloji had simply checked his passport for a visa, he would have realised that Nadeem did not use that passport to travel to Nigeria," he wrote.
Gambaryan also claimed that Nigerian authorities falsely informed the U.S. Embassy and the British High Commission that he and Anjarwalla were voluntarily participating in strategic talks, calling it "a blatant lie."
"Nadeem did not escape lawful detention-we were being held illegally. Belloji even admitted that he would fabricate evidence to obtain a court order to detain us for 14 days. Once the court order expired, they were unable to get an extension from the judge. At that point, they continued holding us illegally and had no justification for doing so."
"There was a lot of noise about using Interpol to capture Nadeem. As someone who has been involved in multiple extradition cases, I can confidently say this was a joke. Extradition is a lengthy legal process, and no rational judge in Kenya or wherever would ever approve extradition for someone who escaped illegal detention at the hands of rogue law enforcement-especially when that detention involved holding employees hostage to pressure their employer. All noise."
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