Detained Binance executives in Nigeria identified after two weeks

A two-week-long information blackout has ended. The identities of the Binance executives detained by Nigerian authorities on February 26 for alleged cryptocurrency market manipulation have finally been revealed.

They are Tigran Gambaryan, a former US federal agent who currently heads Binance's criminal investigations team, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company's Kenya-based regional manager for Africa, as reported by US publication Wired.

"While it is inappropriate for us to comment on the substance of the claims at this time, we can say that we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to bring Nadeem and Tigran back home safely to their families," a Binance spokesperson told the publication. "They are professionals with the highest integrity and we will provide them all the support we can. We trust there will be a swift resolution to this matter."

Following their arrival in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city on February 25, Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan (US citizen) and Nadeem Anjarwalla (UK-Kenyan dual citizen) met with Nigerian officials to discuss the government's recent restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges. However, the situation escalated shortly after. Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were detained, their passports seized and held for two weeks by the National Security Agency.

Despite visits from US and UK representatives, the men remain under guard and haven't had a private conversation. "There's no definite answer for anything: how's he’s doing, what’s going to happen to him, when he's coming back," says Gambaryan's wife, Yuki Gambaryan. "And not knowing that is killing me."

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