- Gambaryan’s bail application was based on health grounds
- Justice Emeka Nwite reserved judgment until October 9, 2024
- Counsel to EFCC opposed the bail application
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a September 4 ruling, set October 9, 2024, as the new date to rule on the bail application brought forward by Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited. The bail application is based on health grounds.
Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since March this year after he was invited by Nigerian officials.
Nwite announced the date after listening to hours of arguments by Gambaryan’s counsel, Mark Mordi. The counsel argued that Gambaryan needed urgent medical care, which the prison officials in the prison could not provide. He further pleaded that Gambaryan had been due for surgery since July 18, 2024.
The bail application was opposed by Ekele Iheanacho, the lawyer of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which arraigned Gambaryan and the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, on charges bordering on money laundering and currency manipulation in April this year.
Iheanacho opposed the bail application, arguing that Gambaryan had received adequate health care at the prison hospital and a top-notch private hospital in Abuja.
Wednesday’s bail application was not the first time Gambaryan’s legal team complained about his failing health. They had, in recent hearings, complained that his health was deteriorating so badly that he may die in prison if adequate care was not provided.
On July 30, 2024, Nwite had to issue an arrest warrant against Abraham Ehizojie, who is a medical doctor at the hospital in Kuje prison, where Gambaryan was detained over his failure to provide Gambaryan’s medical report.
Also, Gambaryan’s family and Binance have complained about his ill health and asked the Nigerian government to release him to get medical attention. On August 26, Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, said her husband was unable to walk due to ill health.
“Tigran Gambaryan, my husband, a former US federal agent, has now been detained in a Nigerian prison for half a year. His health is deteriorating to the point where he can no longer walk and he is being inhumanely denied the use of a wheelchair. Between bouts of malaria, pneumonia, and the incredible mental toll of his detention, Tigran, who is usually so strong, is reaching a breaking point. He needs immediate medical treatment and risks permanent damage,” Yuki said in a video message.
"For six months, our living nightmare has been filled with pleas. Pleas to the U.S. government, pleas to the Nigerian government, pleas to the media, pleas to anyone who will listen. I am pleading for their mercy, for their understanding, for their humanity. My husband is innocent and needs to be released before it is too late and the damage done to him is irreversible. Six months is too long; please help me bring my husband home,” she added.
How crypto scammers stole $55 million from trader via phishing
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that a crypto trader has lost $55.47 million in DAI stablecoin to fraudsters via a phishing attack. This is according to the blockchain security platform Scam Sniffer.
In a post on X, the anti-scam firm said the trader lost the asset after they misappropriatedly transferred ownership of their collateralized debt position (CDP) on DeFi Saver Proxy—a proxy contract created by the DAI stablecoin's issuer to help traders manage their collateralized debt positions (CDPs)—to a malicious wallet.
