The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance has outlined two conditions under which the platform will consider registering with the ARIP program, created by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to attract virtual asset service providers (VASPs).

In an interview with local publication Nairametrics, a Binance source said that, first of all, Nigerian authorities should release the company’s top manager Tigran Gambaryan, who has been in jail since April. He is accused of tax evasion and money laundering of $35 million through cryptocurrency. Despite Gambaryan’s poor health, the country’s authorities refuse to release him.

Another condition: settling the Nigerian government’s charges against Binance. In June, Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris said that Binance’s annual turnover in Nigeria exceeds $20 billion, but the company does not pay taxes to the local treasury. The Nigerian government has accused Binance of tax evasion, money laundering, and violating foreign exchange laws. Binance denies these charges. A spokesperson for the exchange stressed that until the issues with Nigerian authorities are resolved, Binance will not apply for registration with the SEC.

“We are pleased that Nigeria is making progress in developing a digital asset regulatory regime. Therefore, we hope that the authorities will soon release Tigran Gambaryan and our issues with local regulators will be resolved. Then we will be able to apply for registration in Nigeria,” a Binance source told reporters.

Nairametrics’ sources at the SEC claim that Binance is still popular among Nigerians, so the exchange sees no need to comply with the regulator’s requirements to register and open an office in the country. The SEC official noted that due to Binance’s legal battles with Nigerian authorities, the platform has reduced its impact on locals, but they continue to use it through virtual private networks (VPNs).

In August, the Nigerian SEC gave preliminary approval to two crypto exchanges, Quidax and Busha, granting them the status of legal cryptocurrency trading platforms under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP).