Binance CEO Teng Says Nigeria Must Release ‘Beloved Colleague’ Gambaryan

Binance CEO Richard Teng called on the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan, head of the crypto exchange’s Financial Crime Compliance team, who flew to the country in February for talks on regulatory supervision.

“As you may be aware, one of our beloved colleagues, Tigran Gambaryan, continues to be held by the government in Nigeria for more than 70 days,” Teng wrote in a blog post. “I also feel that it’s time to speak out about this issue on behalf of the global business community. To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”

The exchange’s Regional Manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, was also detained in February, and made headlines in March after escaping custody.