Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, spoke out against the way his company’s officials have been treated by the Nigerian government.

For weeks, Nigerian authorities have held two Binance executives on the allegation that they have used Binance assets to undermine Nigerian currency and hurt the Nigerian economy.

Nigeria is still holding Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan as well as Nadeem Anjarwalla. They have been held as representatives of the company and are being held accountable for potentially illegal actions that the company may have committed.  

Binance CEO Teng says that the Nigerian government has mistreated the executives and abused its power. He is trying to draw scrutiny on the country and its government’s actions.

Teng recently gave a detailed timeline of the company’s interactions with Nigeria and is attempting, in his own words, to provide the facts. He says that his friend Gambaryan has been held illegally for more than two months and that he and his company are trying hard to bring his friend home.

Binance’s Legal Troubles

Binance had to deal with new regulations from the Nigerian government back in 2022, and these rules require that any crypto exchanges meet some new requirements and get new SEC permits to operate there.

According to Teng, Binance tried to get guidance from the government on how to adhere to the regulations but did not receive any. Says Teng, no crypto exchange platform has been licensed by the Nigerian SEC so far, pointing out the draconian characteristics of the new law and how the regulations are designed to hurt the crypto industry rather than make it legitimate.

Nigerian government officials have been accused of trying to bribe Binance executives to make the charges go away, but the Nigerian government denies these allegations. The two Binance officials are still being held by the Nigerian government with no word yet as to when they will be released.