A Nigerian court has rejected a bail application of Binance’s executive Tigran Gambaryan, charged with money laundering and currency manipulation with exacerbating health condition. On Friday, October 11, the court rejected the motion to release Gambaryan on medical condition.
In its report, Bloomberg found out that even though the court rejected Gambaryan’s bail application, it ordered the prison staff to take her to a hospital for treatment. His legal team has expressed concern over his health status, which they have said needs surgery. Even Members of the U.S. Congress have also described his continued detention as unfair.
Mordi, the lawyer who represents Gambaryan, had earlier advised the court that his client has been waiting for surgery since July and that the kind of attention that he needs cannot be accorded to him while in prison. Mordi listed several illnesses experienced by Gambaryan: malaria, pneumonia, tonsillitis, and complications of herniated disks, at times forcing him into a wheelchair.
However, these health conditions prove to be severe. The court earlier put a decision on bail on hold in the previous sitting in September, and today, it finally denied this application.
Nigerian Authorities Detain Binance Executives Amid Legal and Health Battles
Gambaryan, a US citizen, has been heading Binance’s financial crime compliance, while British-Kenyan Anjarwalla was arrested in February at the airport in Abuja. Earlier, Nigerian officials invited Binance representatives to the capital, and they were detained. After the fraudsters ‘ arrest, Binance has also stopped all naira and peer-to-peer operations.
Anjarwalla later escaped the country in March in a disguised Kenyan passport. However, Nigerian security personnel, together with the international criminal police cooperation organization Interpol, managed to capture him in Kenya.
Despite remaining in secession for a year, Gambaryan’s plight has received much international attention, especially regarding his health situation. His legal advisors still use humanitarian issues to seek his release. However, despite the court ruling, his lawyers will likely seek more avenues of appeal in the following days.
