Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan shed tears in court as EFCC opposes bail application

The prosecutor of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opposed the application of Binance’s Tigran Gambaryan for bail on medical grounds, according to a statement received by Technext on Monday. 

Earlier today in Abuja, court hearings resumed in Tigran Gambaryan’s trial as his lawyers filed a new bail application for him on medical grounds and based on the fact that they have been prevented from seeing him prepare adequately for his trial.

Also, the lawyers were concerned about his health conditions including a herniated disc in his back as well as suffering bouts of Pneumonia, Malaria and Tonsillitis. The EFCC prosecutor, however, opposed the application because Tigran is not in ill health. 

According to the report seen by Technext, Tigran was denied the use of a wheelchair to enter the court and had to try to make his way in on crutches.

He reportedly broke into tears while the court proceedings were on. Tigran made a plea to the judge saying that he is not receiving proper medical care at the prison and that he is being denied basic rights including access to his legal counsel and embassy representatives. The judge ordered that he be allowed to use a wheelchair.

However, the EFCC prosecutor opposed the application, claiming that Tigran was not in ill health.

Rather strikingly, a part of his medical records handed over by the EFCC recommends surgery for the Biance executive as soon as possible. Information obtained from the family says that an MRI scan was missing in the report while the EFCC prosecution claims that Tigran is refusing treatment. 

Ultimately, the sitting judge adjourned the bail application bail hearing until Wednesday.

Recall that Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance has been detained by the Nigerian authorities for six months. Calls for his release and truce have intensified in the last week as there are growing concerns about Tigran Gambaryan’s deteriorating health and well-being.

Last week, the CEO of Binance, Richard Teng, released a statement where he demanded the release of Tigran and also disclosed that Nigeria has never been a major market for his crypto exchange.

Related post: “Nigeria has never been a big market for us,” Binance CEO Richard Teng says

Tigran Gambaryan’s six months in detention 

In February 2024, the Nigerian authorities initiated a clampdown move on crypto activities in the country as part of plans to curb what it claimed was a manipulation of its currency exchange pricing and terrorism financing on crypto exchanges’ peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms. 

To dialogue with the Nigerian government, two officials of Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crimes compliance, and British-Kenyan national Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Africa arrived in Nigeria on February 26 for a strategic meeting.

Subsequently, both executives were detained by the government and charged with laundering more than $35 million and engaging in specialised financial activities without a licence.

In March, Nadeem Anjarwalla ‘escaped’ from detention and reportedly flew out of the country with a fake passport. However, his counterpart, Tigran Gambaryan, a 40-year-old compliance officer at Binance has been in detention since then. 

In a heartfelt statement recently, Tigran Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, conveyed her deep concern as Tigran. has several family landmark events while in detention. These include his son’s 5th birthday, his first day in school and his 40th birthday. Now, he is about to miss his wife’s birthday which is on August 31st as well as their 15th wedding anniversary. 

Read also: Health of Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan deteriorates in detention, family says

In addition, Yuki released a video plea to ask for his release before the damage done to him is irreversible.

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