Binance’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, has dismissed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) claim that $26 billion was illegally moved out of the country through the crypto exchange.
Gambaryan, alongside his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, was arrested in February 2024 upon arrival in Nigeria for discussions with government officials regarding Binance’s operations. While Anjarwalla later escaped, Gambaryan spent eight months in Kuje Correctional Centre before leaving Nigeria in October 2024 due to health concerns and diplomatic intervention.
CBN’s $26 Billion Claim is Misleading – Gambaryan
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Gambaryan refuted the CBN’s allegations, clarifying that the amount represented cumulative trade volume, not actual funds exiting Nigeria.
“The $26 billion figure they kept pushing publicly as some mystery money escaping Nigeria is complete BS. This information was provided in response to their request and was simply cumulative trade data for Nigerians on the platform,” he wrote.
He further explained:
“This money didn’t leave Nigeria—it was just people buying and selling crypto. For example, if you trade $100 a hundred times, that’s $10,000 in trade volume, but in reality, you only used $100. Again, just another example of them lying to cover up their BS investigation.”
Binance Used as a Scapegoat for Naira Devaluation?
CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso had previously alleged in February 2024 that Binance Nigeria was involved in suspicious transactions worth $26 billion from unidentified sources.
However, Gambaryan countered that the naira’s devaluation was due to government policies, not cryptocurrency trading.
“They all knew that the naira’s devaluation was a direct result of Tinubu’s monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar. 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,” he alleged.
Regulatory Scrutiny Forces Binance Exit
In March 2024, Binance officially exited the Nigerian market amid mounting regulatory scrutiny and allegations of facilitating illicit financial transactions.