The Federal Government Wednesday dropped all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance Holdings executive who has been detained since April.
Gambaryan, a US citizen and the exchange British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were facing money laundering charges to the tune of $35 million brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
the withdrawal of charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday morning.
Anjarwalla, however, fled lawful custody on March 22, 2024, while his counterpart, Gambaryan, was arraigned in April.
Following his arraignment, the court ordered his remand to Kuje Correctional Facility.
The judge, Emeka Nwite, had previously denied Gambaryan bail twice, citing flight risk concerns.
Gambaryan’s health had reportedly deteriorated during detention, with prison officials describing him as “very sick”.
Gambaryan, a United States citizen and former IRS agent, was arrested in February while visiting Nigeria to address regulatory concerns about Binance. He was accused of money laundering and operating an unlicensed financial institution.
The prosecution’s lawyer stated that Gambaryan was merely an employee of Binance, not involved in the company’s broader financial decisions.
Mark Mordi, Gambaryan’s defence lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria agreed with the prosecution’s assessment.
It is understood that there were intense diplomatic efforts between Nigerian and US government officials to secure Gambaryan’s release.
US lawmakers had campaigned for Gambaryan’s release, writing to relevant authorities to intervene.
