Binance has said that its employee, Tigran Gambaryan, who is currently held in Nigeria, is not part of the company’s management team.
The crypto exchange giant clarified that Gambaryan, an American, only serves as a law enforcement officer and does not have the power to make decisions.
The company disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
In February, Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla from Binance Holdings Limited, were arrested in Nigeria on suspicion of involvement in money laundering activities.
Among other charges, the firm and the two employees were charged last Thursday for $35,400,000 money laundering at the Federal High Court, Abuja
While Gambaryan remains in custody, Anjarwalla escaped and fled the country.
Binance’s statement reads, “Tigran is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance management. While he has left the official service of the U.S. government, he has remained fully committed to the role of law enforcement officer ever since, operating as a global advocate for good governance and transparent regulatory financial practices.
“Binance respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.”
The exchange explained that Gambaryan was hired in 2021 to help Binance fix past compliance issues.
Binance revealed that as the head of Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance team, Gambaryan has been a strong advocate for the company to develop policies and build compliance capabilities that set new industry standards.
