Nigeria drops tax charges against Binance executives

Nigeria dropped tax evasion charges against two Binance executives on Friday after the world’s largest crypto exchange appointed a local representative to face all court processes relating to the allegations on its behalf. Binance and Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crimes compliance for the firm, and British-Kenyan national Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Africa, all denied the tax evasion charges. Binance said the court decision showed that Gambaryan was “not a decision-maker at Binance and does not need to be held in order for Binance to resolve issues with the Nigerian government.

“We await the court’s ruling on this, discharging Tigran from this matter completely,” a Binance spokesperson said. Gambaryan has been in custody since February, while Anjarwalla left the country in March. Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service removed the two executives as defendants in the tax evasion case, but along with Binance, they still face separate money laundering charges.

Binance said these charges should be dropped. Gambaryan and Anjarwalla both deny these allegations too. Nigeria has blamed Binance for its currency woes after cryptocurrency websites became the platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian Naira as the country grappled with chronic dollar shortages and its currency fell to a record low.