- Tigran Gambaryan and Binance have been accused of laundering more than $35 million
- Nadeem Anjarwalla, a colleague of Gambaryan, was also detained, but managed to escape on a Middle Eastern airline in March
The Nigerian government has dropped all charges against a Binance executive who had been detained in the country since February.
Tigran Gambaryan, head of financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange, was facing trial on money laundering charges; however, R.U. Adaba, a lawyer representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced the withdrawal during a hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 23, according to Premier Times.
He and Binance were charged with laundering over $35 million.
The EFCC lawyer said Gambaryan was an employee of Binance and that he wasn’t involved in the company’s wider financial decisions. The decision was agreed to by Mark Mordi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) representing Mr Gambaryan.
The decision to drop the charges comes two days before a courtroom session was scheduled for October 25. According to Premier Times, the Wednesday hearing appears to have taken place to avoid as much attention as possible.
Nadeem Anjarwalla, a colleague of Gambaryan, had also been detained while the two were visiting the country. In March, it was reported that Anjarwalla escaped after boarding a Middle Eastern airline with the aid of a fake passport.
Charges dropped, but not acquitted
According to Adaba “diplomatic interventions” and the “extent of the defendant’s involvement in the alleged crimes” were the main factors for the decision.
However, another EFCC lawyer said that the charges against Gambaryan were dropped to enable him to get medical attention abroad.
“We have withdrawn the money laundering charges against Tigran Gambaryan to allow him to get medical treatment outside the country,” said EFCC lawyer Ekele Ihenacho.
Notably, while Gambaryan has been discharged, he hasn’t been acquitted. Adaba said the reason they dropped the charges was due to ill health, “it’s not on the ground of insufficient evidence,” adding:
“The matter has not been heard on its merit, and we are still calling witnesses.”
The trial against Binance continues and is scheduled to take place on November 22 and 25.