- A viral video on X showed Gambaryan limping into a courtroom
- Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria for over six months
- Teng said Gambaryan must be allowed to go home
Richard Teng, the chief executive officer of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has again lambasted Nigeria for the ill-treatment of Tigran Gambaryan, the exchange’s executive, who has been detained in Nigeria for over six months. This came after a video showed Gambaryan limping into a courtroom in Abuja on September 2.
In the video, the Gambaryan dragged his left leg, which looked weak, behind while begging one official of the Nigerian Correctional Service for assistance. The correctional officer rebuked him, and he (Gambaryan) had to walk with one crutch.
“This is fvcked uppp”
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) September 2, 2024
Binance executive cries out in Nigerian court. pic.twitter.com/ZS0qNVpg86
“[The prison guard] was told not to help me. He said there’s an instruction—this is f*cked up. Why couldn’t I use a goddamn wheelchair? This is a show. I’m a f*cking innocent person. Why are you doing this to me?” Gambaryan was heard crying out in the video.
Recall that Gambaryan had asked for a wheelchair to enable him to attend court sessions and visit the US embassy. Still, it was yet to be provided when the video circulated.
Reacting to the viral video, Teng described the treatment Gambaryan has received from Nigerian officials as inhumane and asked the Nigerian government to release him to return to the United States to reunite with his family and get adequate medical care.
“This inhumane treatment of Tigran must end. He must be allowed to go home for medical treatment and to be with his family,” Teng reacted to the X video.
In a separate statement on September 3, a Binance spokesperson said the video was only a snapshot of what Gambaryan, a US citizen, was undergoing in detention.
“We are extremely distressed by the video of Tigran in court yesterday. This video is just a snapshot of Tigran’s current reality. His health is rapidly declining and we are deeply concerned about the long-term consequences of this unjust detention,” the spokesperson said in a statement on September 3.
“Nigeria does not need to keep Tigran in order for us to settle any alleged past issues. We continue to implore the Government of Nigeria to let Tigran return home and let us continue in our engagements.”
Gambrayan has spent months in Kuje prison on the outskirts of Nigeria’s federal capital, Abuja.
He, alongside Binance, is facing money laundering charges filed by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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.
