Nigeria Drops Charges Against Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan After Health Concerns: Report

Nigerian authorities have reportedly dropped all charges against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.

The American and his employer had faced accusations of money laundering. This legal development follows the government’s earlier decision to drop tax evasion charges against the two.

US health concerns and pressure

While the charges were primarily aimed at the crypto exchange, which has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, Gambaryan bore the brunt.

He was placed under house arrest on February 26, 2024, alongside his counterpart Nadeem Anjarwalla, who ran the exchange’s operation in Kenya. Anjarwalla managed to escape arrest in March and Gambaryan was sent to Kuje jail soon after.

However, his health became a central concern in his detention, and reports emerged of his deterioration. He was said to be suffering from malaria and had problems related to a herniated disc. His family also said he was not receiving proper medical care, further worsening his condition.

According to a Bloomberg report, these health problems pushed Nigerian courts to dismiss Gambaryan’s money laundering case. Interestingly, just two weeks earlier, the court had denied him bail.

During his arrest, Binance repeatedly informed Nigerian authorities that the executive was not a “decision maker” at the company, meaning he had no control over the actions being scrutinized.

The case caught the attention of the crypto giant’s CEO Richard Teng, who addressed the situation publicly, stating that the West African country had never been an important market for Binance.

In August, he cleared up a key misunderstanding, emphasizing that the $26 billion figure cited by the government referred to total transaction volume in 2023, not Binance Nigeria’s revenue.

US officials have also been actively involved in advocating for his release. In September, two senior State Department officials revealed that US diplomats had been lobbying Nigerian authorities, urging them to release him because of his worsening health.

US politicians, including MP French Hill, also visited him in prison, calling the situation “outrageous” after images of a distressed Gambaryan appeared in court. Hill expressed satisfaction at the dismissal of the tax evasion charges against the Binance employee, but stated that he believed the money laundering charges were unlawful.

Bilateral link

Meanwhile, on the same day Nigerian authorities dropped charges against Gambaryan, the US announced a new “bilateral engagement” with the country, focusing on cryptocurrency and illicit financing. Also, in a press release, the US reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening relations with Nigeria.

He stated that his Department of Justice would continue to work with Nigerian officials to improve their capacity to handle cybercrime investigations and prosecutions. This development is particularly significant as anonymous sources had previously indicated that Gambaryan’s imprisonment had strained relations between the two countries.

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