- Written by Nkechi Ogbonna
- BBC News, Lagos
image source, Getty Images
Tigran Gambariyan has been detained in Nigeria since February.
An executive at cryptocurrency company Binance has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in a Nigerian court.
Tigran Gambariyan, a US citizen, was arrested in February along with fellow British-Kenyan dual citizen Nadeem Anjarwala.
Their detention comes after Nigeria accused Binance of being behind the country’s economic turmoil.
Gambarian on Monday dismissed five money laundering charges brought against him by the Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
After the hearing, he was transferred to Kuje Correctional Center, a prison in the capital, Abuja. In the past, the facility has housed a wide range of inmates, from jihadists to politicians.
Mr Gambariyan and Mr Anjalwala were previously detained at an unknown location.
In a statement released after Monday’s hearing, Gambarian’s wife, Yuki, said: “It is heartbreaking that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers. … It is unacceptable for them to be in this condition.” We are dealing with completely innocent people. ”
A Binance spokesperson said the charges against Gambarian are “without merit.”
They told the BBC: “We are deeply disappointed that Mr Tigran Gambalyan continues to be detained without any decision-making authority within the company.”
The EFCC, along with Gambariyan and Anjarwala, had accused Binance, one of Nigeria’s most popular cryptocurrency platforms, of laundering $35.4 million (about £28 million).
In February, Gambarayan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and Anjalwala, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were detained after arriving in Nigeria for a meeting to discuss the platform’s operations in the country.
Binance was ordered to pay a $10bn (£8bn) fine later that week.
The government blamed currency speculation and exchange rate fixation for the collapse of the local currency, the naira.
The depreciation of the Naira, along with food inflation and rising costs of living, have triggered Nigeria’s economic crisis.
Binance isn’t alone – Nigerian authorities are cracking down on crypto platforms across the board over allegations that they are being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.
In addition to money laundering charges, Binance and two executives also face four counts of tax evasion brought against them by the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS).
After Anjarwala fled the country, Nigerian authorities said he fled on a “smuggled passport,” but family members said he left the country through “legal means.”
Nigeria said it was “cooperating with Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant for the suspects.”
As of Monday, Mr. Anjalwala is not on Interpol’s red notice list of “internationally wanted fugitives.”
