Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance official who has been detained in Nigeria since February 2024, has reportedly been denied bail by a Nigerian court in the ongoing money laundering trial.
Delivering the ruling, Judge Emeka Nwite said several factors including the nature of offense and its severity must be considered when trying to decide whether or not bail should be granted to the defendant applicant.
Accordingly, Nwite denied the bail application, expressing concerns that Gambaryan might pose a flight risk and would likely flee if released on bail.
About one month ago, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the court that the anti-graft agency had uncovered a plot by Gambaryan to obtain a new passport to facilitate his escape from Nigeria after the EFCC had seized his passport.
Gambaryan, along with Binance Holdings and another senior executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla – who is currently at large – face charges from the EFCC related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Anjarwalla and Gambaryan were detained upon their arrival in Nigeria on February 26 2024. Their arrest followed the federal government’s ban on cryptocurrency channels as part of efforts to curb currency speculation.
In response, Gambaryan filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian government alleging a violation of his fundamental human rights. According to the motion, his detention in Nigeria and the confiscation of his passport contravene the country’s constitution which guarantees an individual’s right to personal liberty.
Binance CEO, Richard Teng, has also come out to call for the release of Gambaryan saying it was time to speak out against the detention of the U.S. citizen and Binance Head of Financial Crime Compliance. He also denied claims that Binance was manipulating the local currency.
“Binance has no role in setting the P2P prices: in fact, P2P transactions are driven by individuals seeking to engage in direct buying and selling of particular crypto-to-crypto or fiat-to-crypto pairs. It’s essentially a marketplace for crypto,” Teng said.
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