Binance Executives Detained in Nigeria Amid Cryptocurrency Crackdown

Two executives from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, will remain in detention for at least two more weeks in Nigeria after appearing in court for the first time on Wednesday. The two men, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites. They were detained on arrival on February 26.

Lawyers from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) want the court to grant a new detention order after the initial one expired on March 12. The Binance executives are opposing this request. After hearing arguments from both parties, the court ruled that they would resume hearing on April 5th.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were caught up in a crackdown following a period during which several cryptocurrency websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian currency, as the country battles chronic dollar shortages. The company announced early this month that it was stopping all transactions and trading in Nigeria’s naira currency after March 8.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide information on all persons trading on the platform from Nigeria to the EFCC. The interim order enabled the anti-graft agency to unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance.