Gambaryan alleges Tinubu made Binance scapegoat for naira price manipulation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Tigran Gambaryan, Binance Head of Finance and Compliance in the United States, has alleged that the Nigerian government used the cryptocurrency platform as a scapegoat for the failure and fallout of the naira devaluation policy of President Bola Tinubu.
Gambaryan disclosed this in a statement on his official X account on Friday, titled “Some Unknown Facts”.
He recounted his experience under custody in Nigeria in 2024, saying Binance, himself, and Binance Chief Executive Officer Nadeem Anjarwalla were subjected to tribulation.
He said while the government accused Binance of manipulating the price of naira in the foreign exchange (forex) market, the reality was that naira devaluation was a direct result of Tinubu’s monetary policy, which led to naira depreciating against the US dollar.
“They tried to use us to violate international privacy laws by demanding user data on all Nigerians to target opposition members allegedly ‘manipulating the price of the naira,’ he stressed.
“However, they all knew that the naira’s devaluation was a direct result of Bola Tinubu’s monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar.
“I’m not saying this policy decision was wrong, but everyone understood that removing government intervention would lead to extreme devaluation. Instead of acknowledging this, they used Binance as a scapegoat.”
Gambaryan, a former US federal agent and now Binance employee, was detained in Nigeria in February 2024 and released in October 2024 after Abuja dropped money laundering charges against him following US diplomatic pressure.
He has added Tinubu’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu among Nigerian officials he claimed demanded bribe from Binance before his release from detention.
He alleged that Ribadu demanded billions in payouts to fund his political ambition and also alleged that three Nigerian lawmakers demanded $150 million (N247 billion) from him to “kill” his case.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were detained on arrival on 26 February 2024 by the Nigerian government.
Anjarwalla escaped from custody but Gambaryan was held until he was charged to court for financial crime.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso had alleged that $26 billion was funnelled through Binance without a trace.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) arraigned Binance, Gambaryan, and Anjarwalla on five counts of money laundering and financial crime.
The Nigerian government later dropped the charges and the Federal High Court in October 2024 ordered the release of Gambaryan.
Read also:
