Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The detention of two executives of Binance, a popular cryptocurrency exchange platform, by the Nigerian government has continued to generate reactions.
Last month, on the invitation of the local authorities, Mr Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen, and Mr Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national, flew into the country but were immediately held by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The government accused the company of allowing its platform to be used for manipulating the country’s foreign exchange (FX) market, weakening the value of the domestic currency, the Naira.
Binance was later forced to stop the use of Naira transactions on its crypto exchange and a few days ago, a court in Abuja directed the firm to hand over trading data of its Nigerian users to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the federal government took Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla to court to secure an order to keep them for additional days after the expiration of an original order on March 12, but the court adjourned the matter to Friday, April 5 for hearing.
Worried that her husband may have to remain in custody till the next hearing, which coincidentally is the fifth birthday of their son, Mrs Yuki Gambaryan appealed to the federal government to release her husband to rejoin them and continue his “good work” at Binance.
“Tigran was only supposed to be away from us for a very short trip and now over 3 weeks later we have no idea when we will see him again.
“I don’t know what to tell our two children who rush to the door every time they hear a car, eagerly hoping that their father has finally returned from a very long work trip.
“Tigran is globally recognized for his work in law enforcement and many of his peers would say that Tigran’s continuous efforts are what keep cryptocurrencies safe and clean.
“Please let him come home to continue this good work. The longer that our husbands are away from our families, the harder it is becoming for us to go about our daily lives.
“We are asking you from the bottom of our hearts and with the deepest respect that you please release them so that our families can be complete once again,” she pleaded.
On her part, Mrs Elahe Anjarwalla lamented that her husband is unable to witness the first birthday of their son today, Thursday, March 21, 2024, because of his incarceration in Abuja.
She has asked the British and Kenyan governments to intervene in the matter and secure the release of her husband.
“I am completely heartbroken. I was holding on to the hope that Nadeem would be home in time to celebrate our son’s first birthday together and I am devastated this won’t be happening.
“Nadeem has no authority to make high-level decisions at Binance and I am once again asking from the bottom of my heart that the Nigerian authorities please allow him and Tigran to return home whilst they continue their discussions with Binance.
“I am also calling on the British and Kenyan governments to do more to get Nadeem back home to us. Please, we just want this nightmare to end,” she said.
Business Post reports that the international passports of Mr Gambaryan and Mr Anjarwalla were seized by the Nigerian authorities when they arrived in the country on February 26, 2024.
