Binance official who was detained in Nigeria leaves crypto exchange
Binance Holdings Ltd.’s head of financial crime compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, who was detained last year in Nigeria for about eight months, is leaving the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Gambaryan was released on humanitarian grounds in October after his health deteriorated while in jail. The former US Internal Revenue Service agent, who joined Binance in 2021, had been held on allegations of money laundering and currency manipulation when he traveling to Nigeria on behalf of Binance. The Nigerian government dropped the charges against Gambaryan.
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Gambaryan said in a message to Bloomberg News that Friday is his last day.
“Tigran has made a lasting impact on Binance, just as he did in his previous roles in law enforcement,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for his dedication in transforming our financial crimes compliance organization. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the crypto industry is safer for all.”
Binance Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng had claimed in a blog posting that the firm was asked for a “secret” payment to make its problems go away. Nigeria rejected the allegation of bribery.
When Gambaryan was working for the US government, he earned the nickname of “Crypto Wizard” for his experience in tracing illicit crypto transactions.
Read also: Tigran Gambaryan’s claims against Nigerian officials, lack credibility – FG
His work at Binance was mainly to help the firm to improve anti-money laundering protocols and assisting global law enforcement in major assets seizures at the time when the largest crypto exchange was under increased regulatory pressure around the world.
