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Binance CEO Richard Teng recently penned a lengthy post on Binance’s blog page. The post concerns Tigran Gambaryan, who is currently detained in Nigeria. Teng highlighted that his valuable colleague Tigran Gambaryan has been held by the government in Nigeria for over 70 days.
Teng: Tigran Gambaryan is Innocent
Teng believes it is time to speak on behalf of the global business community about this issue. According to Teng, inviting middle-level employees to joint policy meetings, but then detaining them, sets a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.
Having known Tigran since he joined Binance, Teng shared his deep admiration for him, stating the biggest irony and most unfortunate truth is that a globally recognized financial crime fighter is being held in Nigeria for more than two months on false grounds.
Tigran’s Life
“Tigran has dedicated his professional life to fighting financial crimes,” said Teng, noting that Tigran’s decade as a federal police officer is documented in the book “Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency,” and they published this blog a few weeks ago to share more about his illustrious career in crime fighting.
After working as a Special Agent at the U.S. IRS, Gambaryan joined Binance to continue his work, realizing he could do even better by keeping bad actors out and maintaining market integrity for one of the largest companies in this emerging sector. Anyone leaving public service for a private institution can say that working for a private company, sometimes of extraordinary scale, can create an even greater positive impact.
Gambaryan Joined Binance in 2021
Considering this background, Tigran was hired in 2021 to help Binance develop and implement stronger compliance controls and collaborate with law enforcement to stop financial crimes. As the head of Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team, he became a strong advocate for Binance to develop policies and compliance capabilities that set new industry standards.
Tigran’s Financial Crime Compliance team assisted global law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and others, in freezing and seizing more than $2.2 billion in assets, including over $285 million in 2022 and 2023.
Teng finally notes that Tigran did not go to Nigeria as a “decision-maker” or “negotiator.” He acted merely as a functional expert in capacity building in financial crimes and policy discussions, emphasizing that Gambaryan is innocent and should be released immediately.
