Binance executive and former United States federal agent Tigran Gambaryan’s legal trial in Nigeria has been moved to Sept. 2 as the crypto industry awaits an outcome with bated breath.
Gambaryan’s latest court hearing is set to commence later today. The Binance executive was arrested in Nigeria in February 2024 for charges related to money laundering.
In a worrying sign for the hearing’s outcome, the executive is yet to have access to his legal team, according to an Aug. 27 announcement by Binance CEO Richard Teng, who wrote:
“Furthermore, the authorities are refusing to provide him access to his legal counsel, despite his trial commencing on September 2, which, we have been informed, is unconstitutional in Nigeria.”
Gambaryan was detained for alleged financial crimes amounting to $34 million relating to Binance’s operations in Nigeria. Industry outcries for his release grew louder at the end of August after he spent six months in detention in the African nation.
Gambaryan in court. Source: Nairametrics
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Gambaryan denied basic healthcare in Nigerian detention
Gambaryan’s health is reportedly rapidly deteriorating, making his timely release crucial.
The Binance executive’s family has raised concerns over Gambaryan’s worsening health conditions, which is due to prolonged medical negligence, the family said in a shared statement:
“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.”
Binance exchange’s CEO, Richard Teng, has also called for his release based on his worsening health conditions. The CEO wrote:
“I appeal once again for the Nigerian government to allow him to go home to his family on humanitarian grounds so that he can seek the appropriate medical treatment in the US.”
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Nigerian government blames Binance for naira’s decline in 2023
While the full scope of allegations against the executive are long and complex, the Nigerian government is also blaming the world’s largest exchange for the decline of its fiat currency, the naira.
The Nigerian government claimed that Binance contributed to the naira’s price decline in June 2023, according to Teng’s announcement. He wrote:
“We had been offering P2P services as a value-added service for our users wishing to get exposure to crypto during that time. The end of the Naira’s currency peg by the government in June 2023 caused the biggest fall in Naira’s history according to experts.”
The naira declined over 50% in 2024, trading at a low of $1 to 1,660 nairas as of July 31.
Binance noted that the fiat currency’s “downward trend continued” despite the exchange ceasing to offer peer-to-peer services in Nigeria in February 2024.