In summary
- A Nigerian court dropped the charges and authorized the release of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who had been detained in the country since February.
- The case against Gambaryan, a former IRS agent and head of financial crimes compliance at Binance, was dismissed on the grounds of his poor health.
- Gambaryan was detained in February when he flew to Nigeria to negotiate with authorities over a ban on several Cryptocurrency trading sites, and his health deteriorated significantly during his detention.
A Nigerian court has dropped charges and authorized the release of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who had been detained in the country since February.
The case against the Binance executive and former IRS agent, who was the head of financial crimes compliance at the cryptocurrency exchange, has been dismissed on the grounds of his poor health, according to a Bloomberg report.
Binance and Gambaryan’s representative did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request to confirm these reports.
Gambaryan was detained in February when he flew to Nigeria to negotiate with authorities over a ban on several cryptocurrency trading sites. During this, he was required to surrender his passport and was taken into custody.
This event occurred alongside Binance’s Africa regional manager, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped custody and fled the country a month later. Meanwhile, Gambaryan remained detained in Nigeria as his health began to deteriorate.
During his eight months in detention, the former IRS agent suffered problems with malaria, a chest infection and a herniated disc that limited his movement. According to his family and US officials, these health problems were not adequately treated, causing them to worsen.
In July, US Congressman Rep. French Hill (R-AR) visited Gambaryan in Nigerian prison stating that his health was “deteriorating” in custody. A month later, a family spokesperson told Decrypt that her health had worsened significantly, calling it “alarmingly poor.” Throughout this, Nigerian officials insisted that Gambaryan’s health was “fine.”
The Binance executive’s team believes his herniated disc requires specialized, high-risk surgery that he is not receiving in Nigeria. As a result of the lack of treatment, he needed help walking and collapsed during a court hearing, as he could not stand without assistance.
Two weeks ago, Gambaryan was denied bail on “medical grounds” despite his family saying he met the requirements. This led to his trial being postponed for a week due to his poor health, which prevented him from attending a scheduled hearing. Gambaryan’s next court hearing was scheduled for Friday, October 25, but the charges have been dropped and he will no longer be needed.
The former IRS agent had been detained in Nigeria for eight months while U.S. government officials fought for his release. A resolution urged the government to classify him as “unlawfully or wrongfully detained,” under the same law that resulted in the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russia.
Congressman Rich McCormick, Gambaryan’s local representative for Georgia, told Decrypt that cryptocurrency-related “laziness” combined with Biden’s “soft” international policy was responsible for the slow action in this case.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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