Binance says it’s working ‘collaboratively’ with Nigerian authorities

Binance’s problems in Nigeria continue as two employees remain detained in the country.

Authorities in Nigeria asked a court in the capital of Abuja to extend the detention of two executives who have been held since Feb. 26.

Officials sought to extend the court order allowing the executives to be held, which lasted 14 days.

Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, Tigran Gambrayan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Africa, are being detained in the country. They have not been charged with any crimes.

Earlier this week, in a joint statement, the wives of the two executives said, “We don’t understand how keeping [Gambrayan and Anjarwalla] — and us — in this nightmare is going to help resolve whatever issues the Nigerian government has with Binance. We just want our husbands home and we are pleading with the Nigerian authorities to release them immediately and for Tigran and Nadeem’s respective governments to do more to get their citizens home.”

A hearing is set for March 20 after lawyers for the executives argued that they shouldn’t be detained. Nigerian officials were given three days to respond to the arguments from the lawyers, according to a representative for the families.

“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. 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,” a Binance spokesperson told Blockworks.

The dispute between Binance and Nigeria started in late February after the country’s central bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, named Binance in a press conference and said that $26 billion passed through Binance Nigeria.

Then, another official said that the country was looking to impose a fine. Following the reports around the back and forth between the two, Binance announced that it was ending support for the naira.

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