Head of financial crime compliance at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, is leaving the exchange after an eight-month legal ordeal in Nigeria that drew international attention.
Gambaryan, a former US Internal Revenue Service agent, confirmed to Bloomberg News that Friday is his last day at Binance. The Nigerian government detained him last year on money laundering and currency manipulation charges after he traveled to the country on behalf of Binance.
“Tigran has made a lasting impact on Binance, just as he did in his previous roles in law enforcement,” a Binance spokesperson told Bloomberg. “We are deeply grateful for his dedication in transforming our financial crimes compliance organization. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the crypto industry is safer for all.”
Gambaryan was released in October on humanitarian grounds after his health deteriorated in detention. Nigerian authorities later dropped the charges.
At Binance, his work focused on enhancing the company’s anti-money laundering protocols and assisting global law enforcement with asset seizures as regulators intensified scrutiny of major exchanges.
Before joining Binance in 2021, Gambaryan built a reputation as a top crypto crimes investigator for the US government, earning the nickname “Crypto Wizard” for tracing illicit blockchain transactions.
The episode marked a tense chapter for Binance’s global operations. Binance CEO Richard Teng previously alleged in a blog post that officials in Nigeria had sought a “secret” payment to resolve the case — a claim Nigeria denied.
Binance and Zhao pleaded guilty to separate charges in November 2023, agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in penalties. Zhao was fined $50 million, stepped down as CEO, and served four months in US prison.
The SEC sued Binance in June 2023, accusing it and co-founder Changpeng Zhao of mishandling customer funds and violating securities laws.
“I got lawyers applying,” Zhao said during the interview, saying that he ultimately decided to move forward after stories from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal suggested he was pursuing a pardon from former U.S. President Donald Trump. The former crypto mogul pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in November 2023 as part of a settlement with U.S. authorities.
In May, CZ confirmed that he has formally applied for a presidential pardon, weeks after initially denying reports of such a move.