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Binance Is Having an Odd Time
Regulatory crackdowns, and possibly whatever is happening in Nigeria.
Mar 27, 2024, 12:30 a.m.
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Binance is having a weird moment, perhaps most clearly illustrated by the fact that a national government detained two of its executives for a month now – and one is only free because he seemingly escaped custody.
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Tax evasion
The narrative
Nigeria and the Philippines have recently cracked down on Binance in extremely different ways, while what used to be Binance in Russia is shutting down.
Why it matters
Binance has been the poster child as the target of governments' ire against the crypto industry. Actions like last year's joint U.S. Department of Justice, Treasury Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission settlement against Binance support the thesis that Binance hasn't played within regulatory guidelines in the past. And then there's whatever is going on in Nigeria.
Breaking it down
It's been a bit of a weird time for Binance. Two executives had been detained by a country that appears to be grasping for reasons to keep them there (one has since escaped, possibly with a fake passport). In the meantime, a handful of other countries have cracked down on the exchange.
Over the weekend, the operator of what used to be Binance's Russian platform, CommEx, announced it would start shutting down services in the country over the next several weeks.
Meanwhile, the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission published an order announcing it would block Binance in the nation, saying it "poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos." This follows a warning from the regulator last November.
And, of course, there's Nigeria, which a month ago detained two Binance executives – Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla – without announcing any charges against either individual. Gambaryan is a former U.S. Internal Revenue Service investigator who heads financial crimes enforcement compliance at Binance, while Anjarwalla is a dual national of the U.K. and Kenya. Anjarwalla has since escaped under odd circumstances, while Gambaryan is still detained.
The Record published a comprehensive summary of the situation earlier on Tuesday.
The U.S. and U.K. governments are aware of the detentions, statements from their respective agencies said in statements to CoinDesk reporters.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told CoinDesk the entity was "aware of reports of the detention of a U.S. citizen in Abuja, Nigeria," while a spokesperson for the U.K.'s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said, "We are supporting a British man detained in Nigeria and are in contact with the local authorities."
A spokesperson for the Kenyan government's counterpart could not immediately be reached. A White House spokesperson didn't return requests for comment.
The executives were detained ostensibly because the government blamed Binance for its ongoing currency crisis. According to The Wall Street Journal, which was the first outlet to identify the executives, the two were initially not charged with any crimes. After Anjarwalla's reported escape, Nigeria charged Binance, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla with tax evasion – four weeks after first confiscating the executives' passports and placing them under house arrest.
"When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the Department works to provide all appropriate assistance," the U.S. State Department spokesperson said. "Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment."
A spokesperson for Yuki Gambaryan and Elahe Anjarwalla, Tigran and Nadeem's wives, told CoinDesk earlier this month that they were not yet aware of any specific actions taken by the various governments.
"They have received a lot of information from the families and we know that they've been in touch and they are aware of what is happening," they said. "But as far as we know, with regards to specific actions that they have taken with their Nigerian counterparts, we're not aware of anything up to now."
Stories you may have missed
- U.S. SEC Asking for More Millions, Dozens of Lawyers to Beef Up Crypto Oversight: Jesse Hamilton and I parsed through the SEC, CFTC and Treasury's fiscal year 2025 budget requests. Both independent agencies and the Department asked for more funds and mentioned crypto at various points in their requests. It remains to be seen what Congress does with these (lawmakers only just got around to passing a budget for 2024).
- Polygon Labs Paid $4M to Host Starbucks' Failed Foray Into Crypto: Sources: Polygon Labs paid Starbucks $4 million to host its NFT loyalty program Odyssey, which Starbucks shut down earlier this month.
- Do Kwon Released From Montenegrin Prison on Bail; Terraform Labs' Civil Trial Begins in NYC: Montenegro is still figuring out whether and where to extradite Terra/Luna creator Do Kwon, but in the meantime, he's been released from prison after serving a sentence for attempting to travel with falsified documents. In New York, his former company Terraform Labs' civil case has kicked off.
This week
Monday
- 13:30 UTC (9:30 a.m. ET) The U.S. SEC's trial against Terraform Labs will kick off.
Tuesday
- 8:00 UTC (9:00 a.m. CEST) Dutch prosecutors will begin its case against Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev. The prosecution detailed the allegations against Pertsev in an indictment last week.
Thursday
- 13:30 UTC (9:30 a.m. ET) Sam Bankman-Fried's sentencing hearing will kick off. Read the SBF Trial newsletter for more information.
Elsewhere:
- (Axios) Beba, an online apparel store, airdropped tokens to customers that they can redeem for discounted goods or otherwise trade. The company is now preemptively suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to win a court ruling that its token is not a security.
- (U.S. Treasury Department) The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctioned a number of crypto companies on Monday, alleging they were using virtual assets to try and evade U.S. sanctions. OFAC also sanctioned a Syrian money exchanger based in Lebanon named Tawfiq Muhammad Sai'd al-Law, who conducted crypto transactions for sanctioned entities like Hizballah on Tuesday.
- (The San Francisco Standard) The Standard profiled Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen and his involvement in San Francisco politics.
If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me on Twitter @nikhileshde.
You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.
See ya’ll next week!
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
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