- Tigran Gambaryan’s trial to resume on September 2, 2024
- Gambaryan is being prosecuted for money laundering alongside Binance Holdings Limited
- Gambaryan has been in detention for six months
A federal high court in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, has set a new date for the resumption of the trial of the detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The court moved the date initially set for October 11 to September 2 after Gambaryan’s legal team contested it. They argued that it was too far, given the American's frail health and the pressure the case has generated already.
Gambaryan is being prosecuted for money laundering alongside Binance Holdings Limited. Nigeria’s premier tax collection agency, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) authorities, dropped a tax evasion charge earlier on June 14, leaving other charges bordering on money laundering.
Gambaryan was detained in Abuja by the country’s security forces, spearheaded by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on February 28 after he honoured the authorities' invitation. He was detained alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa.
Weeks into the detention, Anjarwalla escaped and fled the country, leaving Gambaryan behind. After that, security was tightened at the ‘guest house’ where they were held, and Gambaryan was prevented from making calls. Gambaryan was later moved to a prison facility on the outskirts of the federal capital, Abuja.
The case has generated a lot of attention in the crypto space, with Binance CEO Richard Teng saying the allegations hold no water. In a blog post, he accused unnamed Nigerian officials of demanding a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency to stop the investigations and charges and release the executive.
In response, Nigeria’s Ministry of Information debunked Teng’s claims and said they “lack any iota of substance.”
Gambaryan’s family has also cried out. According to a statement released by the family on August 26, his health condition has worsened, and he is now unable to walk again. The statement said medical negligence by Nigerian prison officials and the Nigerian government is the reason why the Binance executive's health keeps getting worse.
“He is no longer able to walk from the pain of his untreated herniated disc or spinal injury. The prison is also refusing to provide him with a wheelchair,” the family said in the statement.
Now Gambaryan has to take blood thinners to prevent blood clots due to immobility. The family also claims that his legal team was denied access to him for 20 days, from July 26 to August 14, by the country's authorities.
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.
