Binance Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman discussed the latest in the legal battle involving Nigeria and Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.
Perlman commented on the ongoing saga involving two Binance executives and the Nigerian government without offering much hope for a resolution anytime soon.
Regarding Tigran Gambaryan, Perlman told CNBC, “We don’t see a clear roadmap for bringing him back in the near future.”
Perlman said Binance is doing as much as possible to bring Gambaryan back to the United States, but the U.S. government holds most of the power in the negotiations. Gambarian previously worked for the IRS.
“I trust the United States government will do the right thing here,” Perlman said.
Gambarian is accused of contracting malaria after collapsing in court on May 24. Despite a court order to transport him to a hospital, Gambarian has not yet been released from prison, where poor medical facilities make proper diagnosis and treatment difficult.
“We suspect he has malaria. He fell in court today,” Perlman said.
Citing past Binance negotiations, Perlman emphasized the company’s willingness to cooperate with authorities.
“If (Binance) has done something wrong in the past, I’m not saying we did or didn’t do it, but if they did, we want to come to the table and resolve the issue,” Perlman said. “And the message we are sending to the Nigerian government is that you do not need to hold on to Tigrin.”
background
Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwall were arrested in February and charged with crimes by the Nigerian government. Gambarian is awaiting trial, and Anzarwal was eventually extradited from Kenya to Nigeria but escaped detention.
The pair arrived in Nigeria on behalf of Binance to discuss regulatory issues and the government’s recent crackdown on the cryptocurrency trading platform with officials. After negotiations, they were arrested without passports and detained in a government facility.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional directors for Africa, were both charged with four counts of tax evasion, including failing to register with Nigeria’s Federal Revenue Service.
“I don’t know Nadeem’s condition,” Perlman said in an interview. “We haven’t had any contact with him since he left.”