Nigerian authorities have reportedly dropped all charges against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan.
The American and his employer had been facing accusations of money laundering. This legal development follows the government’s earlier decision to drop tax evasion charges against both.
Health Concerns and U.S. Pressure
While the charges were primarily directed at the crypto exchange, which repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, Gambaryan bore the brunt.
He was placed under house arrest on February 26, 2024, alongside his counterpart Nadeem Anjarwalla, who headed the exchange’s Kenyan operation. Anjarwalla managed to escape detention in March, with Gambaryan being sent to Kuje prison soon after.
However, his health became a central concern in his detention, with reports surfacing of his declining condition. He was said to be suffering from malaria and had issues related to a herniated disk. His family also said that he wasn’t receiving proper medical care, making his condition even worse.
According to a Bloomberg report , these health problems pushed Nigerian courts to dismiss Gambaryan’s money laundering case. Interestingly, only two weeks prior, the court had denied him bail.
Throughout his detention, 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 a significant market for Binance.
In August, he clarified a key misunderstanding, emphasizing that the $26 billion figure mentioned by the government referred to total transaction volume in 2023, not Binance’s revenue from Nigeria.
U.S. officials have also been actively involved in advocating for his release. In September, two senior State Department officials revealed that American diplomats had been lobbying Nigerian authorities, urging them to release him due to his worsening health.
U.S. politicians, including Rep. French Hill, also visited him in prison, describing the situation as “outrageous” after footage emerged of a distressed Gambaryan in court. Hill expressed satisfaction with the dismissal of tax evasion charges against the Binance employee but stated he believed the money laundering charges were wrongful.
Bilateral Liasion
Meanwhile, on the same day Nigerian authorities dropped the charges against Gambaryan, the U.S. announced a new “bilateral liaison” with the country, focusing on cryptocurrency and illicit finance. Further, in a press release, the U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening relations with Nigeria.
It stated that its Department of Justice would continue collaborating with Nigerian officials to enhance their capacity to handle cybercrime investigations and prosecutions. This development is particularly significant as anonymous sources had previously indicated that Gambaryan’s imprisonment had reportedly strained relations between the two countries.
