Court sets Gambaryan free as Nigerian government withdraws charges

The Nigerian government has withdrawn the money laundering charges it brought against Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive detained since February, on the grounds of his deteriorating health. The Federal High Court of Nigeria mediating in the matter subsequently discharged Gambaryan and set him free. 

The details 

• Per reports in several Nigerian media outlets, the legal counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the court that Gambaryan’s health has taken a turn for the worse. 
• He had missed the court’s last sitting on October 18 due to his medical condition and is now said to be suffering from additional health issues that have seen him hospitalized. 
• The EFCC also pointed to unnamed diplomatic reasons having some bearing on its move to drop charges against Gambaryan. 
• The agency’s representatives added that the Nigerian government reviewed the case and found that he was merely an employee of Binance and as such, should not be prosecuted on behalf of the company.
• As a result, it opted to cease Gambaryan’s prosecution and withdraw charges brought against him. 
• The court then proceeded to discharge Gambaryan and order his immediate release from the Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. 
• However, the EFCC maintained that the case against Binance was still active, adding that it will continue to call witnesses in court against the cryptocurrency exchange. 

Telling quote 

• The EFCC’s counsel, R. U Adagba, told the court: 

“The government has reviewed the case and, taking into consideration that the second defendant (Gambaryan) is an employee of the first defendant (Binance Holdings Limited), whose status in the matter has more impact than the second defendant’s, and also taking into consideration some critical international and diplomatic reasons, the state seeks to discontinue the case against the second defendant.” 

Catch up 

• Tigran Gambaryan, a United States citizen, has been imprisoned in Nigeria since February amid a standoff between the Nigerian government and Binance. 
• He was originally brought before a Nigerian court by the EFCC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to face money laundering and tax evasion charges on behalf of Binance. 
• The FIRS dropped the tax evasion charges against Gambaryan after his representatives argued that he should not be held accountable for Binance’s actions as he is merely a company representative. 
• In the aftermath of his transfer to a Nigerian prison and subsequent bail denial, his health faltered up to the point he was bedridden, unable to walk and required the aid of crutches to appear in court. 
• In addition, his representatives told Mariblock that they had been denied access to him.
• In addition, for several months, despite a court order to the contrary, the Nigerian government withheld his medical results on claims that he was not sick. 
• On June 4, twelve US lawmakers petitioned the president of the US, Joe Biden to secure Gambaryan’s release, arguing that the Nigerian government was holding him on baseless charges.