Binance exec held in Nigeria health worsens, test results denied

The health of Binance executive Gambaryan remains uncertain one month and one week after Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the Nigerian Correctional Service to transfer him to a capable medical facility for treatment. His family says, “He has had double pneumonia and malaria whilst in prison.”

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Reports from Nigeria state that Tigran Gambaryan’s health remains in grave danger. In addition, the first witness from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria was cross-examined on Monday, resulting in the adjournment of the money laundering trial against Binance and two executives until July 5.

Binance’s Gambaryan fights for his life and his freedom

Nigeria’s court is still aware that, despite repeated court orders, the prison where Tigran Gambaryan is being kept has not produced his medical documents from his single hospital visit, which occurred a month ago.

According to his family members, Gambaryan’s health is declining. Justice Emeka Nwite again ordered that the reports be sent to Gambaryan’s counsel by Friday. 

Gambaryan’s family spokesperson said that “Tigran’s health continues to deteriorate in detention, and he complained of numbness in his foot as well as back pain[…] He has had double pneumonia and malaria whilst in prison.” His wife adds that: 

As I have stated many times before and as the evidence in court is showing, Tigran has never been a decision-maker at Binance, and there is no justification for his continued detention […] It is time for the Nigerian authorities to do the right thing and release my innocent husband.

Yuki Gambaryan

The defense’s extensive questioning of a representative of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission to refute allegations that Binance had engaged in the unlicensed offer and sale of securities has led to the recent dispute regarding Gambaryan’s health.

Gambaryan, the crypto exchange’s head of financial crime compliance, has been detained in Nigeria since February and is currently being held in Kuje prison. The Binance exec is being held alongside members of the terrorist organization Boko Haram. 

Nadeem Anjarwalla, another executive who is also accused of money laundering, has since fled.

Will the US government come to Gambaryan’s rescue?

Last month, two US legislators who visited the Binance executive in Nigeria stated that he is in poor health and asked the American embassy to seek a humanitarian release.

Representatives French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan stated that they used the occasion of a national-security travel to the West African country “to advocate for an American that has been wrongfully detained by the Nigerian government.”

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Gambaryan has since been cleared of tax fraud claims by Nigeria’s tax department. The anti-graft agency’s separate money-laundering case against him has resumed in the capital, Abuja.

According to Pennsylvania Democrat Houlahan, “We will be able to put the full force of America behind us to make sure that he is returned home safely.”

In a letter to President Joe Biden on June 4, Hill was one of 16 Republican legislators who accused Nigeria of holding Gambaryan hostage.

In a twist, Binance claimed in May that it was asked for a “secret” crypto payment to make its problems in Nigeria “go away” – an allegation that the authorities denied. The amount in question was $150 million, according to a separate article by the New York Times, citing anonymous sources.

Binance’s issues in the West African country had been brewing for months before the imprisonment, when officials barred access to crypto channels amid a crackdown on speculation against the local currency, the naira.

Officials claim the platforms, which are popular among Nigerians, have contributed to the local currency’s 68% slide against the dollar since foreign exchange controls were eased in June of last year.

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Cryptopolitan Reporting by Florence Muchai