The CEO of Binance, Richard Teng has called for the release of a senior executive of the cryptocurrency exchange, Tigran Gambaryan. Richard Teng made the call on Tuesday via an official blog post, urging the Nigerian government to release Tigran.
In the post, Richard Teng provided background details about the issue, recalling how the firm has attempted to secure the release of the executive on numerous occasions.
Furthermore, Teng revealed that the exchange initiated discussions with the Nigerian government during a public investigative hearing. The hearing emanated as a request from the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes (HCFC).
Meanwhile, in its report, the committee outlined some shortcomings of the exchange’s operations in the country. Consequently, the committee also revealed some of its plans to summon Binance and arrest its team including the CEO. Also, the HCFC released a warrant, preventing the exchange’s delegate from leaving Nigeria.
Recall that in February, reports surfaced that the Nigerian government had arrested two Binance senior executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. The arrest materialized as a result of claims that the exchange was playing a huge role in the crash of the Nigerian Naira.
Thereafter, Binance left the country as Bayo Onanuga, a special adviser to the Nigerian president on Information and Strategy suggested that the Nigerian government should ban cryptocurrency exchanges. Similarly, the adviser also urged the government to ban other platforms that facilitate the trading of Forex, among many others.
Meanwhile, a separate report established that Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped from the custody of the Nigerian government in March. In the report, the Binance executive used a Kenyan passport to flee from the country.
How the Nigerian Government Allegedly Requested for Settlement Fee in Cryptocurrency From Binance
However, in his submission, Richard Teng revealed that the Nigerian government requested a settlement fee in cryptocurrency. According to the CEO, some unknown persons approached employees of the exchange, asking for payment in settlement of the allegations.
Further, Richard Teng said a representative of the HCFC communicated the request to the local counsel of the exchange. According to his revelation, the representative requested that the exchange make the payment secretly within 24 hours. Eventually, the exchange turned down the request and pressed on with the settlement negotiations.
Hence, the exchange went on to fix numerous meetings with relevant bodies and authorities including the Office of the President, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian SEC.
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