Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, is leaving the company after eight months of legal challenges in Nigeria. Charges have been dropped following his arrest and detention on allegations of money laundering and currency manipulation. Gambaryan confirmed his last day with the firm this Friday. 8 months ago, Gambaryan was detained while representing Binance in Nigeria. Following a decline in health, he was released under humanitarian circumstances. The Nigerian government has now dropped all charges. Gambaryan previously built a reputation for tracking illicit cryptocurrency transactions while working at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service before joining Binance. He played a key role in developing Binance’s compliance procedures, navigating complex regulatory pressures from around the globe. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao in June 2023, alleging the company mismanaged customer funds and violated securities regulations. The SEC also secured guilty pleas from both Binance and Zhao on separate sanctions violations and money laundering failures. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties while Zhao paid $50 million and resigned as CEO. He later served a prison sentence for violating U.S. laws. Despite these legal challenges, Gambaryan’s departure is part of a larger shift within Binance. The company recently requested a pause in the ongoing SEC case and is facing scrutiny on its practices worldwide.