Tigran Gambaryan, the former Binance executive detained in Nigeria for almost eight months in 2024, has taken a swipe at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), questioning its ability to uncover large-scale financial fraud.
Gambaryan was reacting to the EFCC’s claim that Nigerian banks, fintech firms and microfinance institutions enabled widespread fraud amounting to N18.7 billion by failing to conduct basic customer due diligence.
In a blunt post on Friday, the former head of financial crime compliance at Binance said the anti-graft agency would struggle to spot fraud even if it was obvious.
“EFCC couldn’t detect widespread fraud if it came with a name tag and waved at them. Why bother investigating when you can just peddle BS? Billion this, billion that. Give me a break,” he wrote.
The comments have reignited controversy around Gambaryan’s arrest and prosecution in Nigeria last year. A former United States Internal Revenue Service agent, he was arrested in February 2024 during the Federal Government’s clampdown on Binance over allegations of currency manipulation.
In April 2024, the EFCC arraigned Binance and Gambaryan on money laundering charges. A court later denied his initial bail request, and proceedings took a dramatic turn in May when he collapsed in court, citing ill-health.
His legal team and family repeatedly warned that his health was deteriorating in Kuje correctional centre, with his wife, Yuki Gambaryan, saying he required a highly specialised and risky surgery.
The health concerns prompted a court to issue an arrest warrant for a prison medical doctor who failed to present Gambaryan’s medical report. The EFCC, however, disputed the severity of his condition in court filings.
On October 23, 2024, the commission dropped all charges against Gambaryan, citing, among other reasons, critical international and diplomatic considerations.
Gambaryan eventually left Binance in June 2025. His latest remarks now place him back at the centre of Nigeria’s ongoing debate over financial crime enforcement and regulatory credibility.
