Today (Friday), Nigeria dropped tax evasion charges against two Binance executives after a local representative was appointed by the cryptocurrency exchange to handle the legal proceedings.
Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and head of financial crimes compliance, and Nadeem Angarwala, the British-Kenyan regional director for Africa, have denied the accusations.
Binance is awaiting the court's decision
Binance clarified that Gambarian's role does not include decision-making at the company, suggesting that his detention was not necessary to resolve issues with the Nigerian government. A Binance spokesperson expressed his anticipation for the court's decision to completely expel Gambaryan from the case.
Gambarian had been detained since February, while Angarwala left Nigeria in March. The Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service subsequently removed both executives as defendants in the tax evasion case.
However, Binance and its executives still face separate money laundering allegations, which the company maintains should also be dismissed. Both Gambaryan and Angarwala denied the accusations.
Nigeria drops tax charges against Binance executives https://t.co/f3FV3TQIbs pic.twitter.com/tKY8lylodY
– Reuters (@Reuters) June 14, 2024
Nigeria has previously attributed its currency challenges in part to Binance, as cryptocurrency platforms have gained prominence for trading the Nigerian naira amid a prolonged dollar scarcity and a historic decline in the value of the national currency.
200 million users and $100 billion in assets
Binance has reached the milestone of 200 million users, which represents a remarkable achievement along with keeping $100 billion in user assets under custody this year, according to Finance Magnates. This user base makes up approximately 36% of the total number of cryptocurrency users globally, which demonstrates Binance's rapid growth. In 2023 alone, the exchange added 40 million users, followed by another 30 million in the first half of 2024.
Celebrating the milestone on social media, Binance highlighted it as a step towards its ambitious goal of reaching 1 billion users globally. The company attributed its success to user support and expressed its gratitude to its community.
Looking ahead, Binance expects to reach 300 million users by 2026, supported by ongoing industry trends and global adoption of cryptocurrencies. Despite the legal challenges faced by its founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Binance remains resilient, maintaining its position as the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange.
This article was written by Tariq Sikdar at www.financemagnates.com.
