The family of Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive detained in Nigeria, reports that his health has severely deteriorated, and he is being denied access to medical care.

In an Aug. 26 statement shared with CryptoSlate, his family expressed grave concerns about his health conditions and revealed that he is suffering from extreme pain due to a herniated disc, leaving him unable to walk.

The family stated:

“[Gambaryan] is now in so much pain from a herniated disc in his back that he can no longer walk. As he is bed-bound, he is having to take blood thinners to avoid blood clots and the prison doctor has said that his muscles have atrophied.”

His wife, Yuki Gambaryan, highlighted the inhumane conditions, stating that her husband is being denied the use of a wheelchair despite his worsening health.

She explained that Gambaryan is battling recurring bouts of malaria and pneumonia alongside the immense mental strain of his detention. She stressed that he needs urgent medical attention to prevent permanent damage.

Gambaryan has been held in Nigeria since Feb. 26. He is accused of money laundering, currency speculation, and tax evasion related to his work at Binance. Despite international calls for his release, he has now been in custody for six months.

Legal concerns

Meanwhile, the family alleges that the lack of a wheelchair has prevented Gambaryan from seeking support from the US embassy.

They further claim that Nigerian authorities barred his legal team from visiting him between July 26 and Aug. 14, which they argue violates the Nigerian constitution and prison regulations.

Though his legal team was later permitted a brief five-minute visit to prepare for trial, they were denied further access. This has hindered their ability to adequately prepare Gambaryan for his trial, which is set to begin on Sept. 2.

Gambaryan’s wife added:

“For 6 months, our living nightmare has been filled with pleas. Pleas to the US government, pleas to the Nigerian government, pleas to the media, pleas to anyone who will listen. I am pleading for their mercy, for their understanding, for their humanity. My husband is innocent and needs to be released before it is too late and the damage done to him is irreversible.”

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The family of Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive detained in Nigeria, reported that he is being denied proper access to his legal team, and his health is rapidly declining, according to an Aug. 12 statement shared with CryptoSlate.

Gambaryan, who traveled to Abuja for a meeting with Nigerian officials in February, has been in custody since Feb. 26, when the authorities confiscated his American passport. Since then, he has not seen his family—his wife and two young children.

The situation worsened when the Abuja court began its summer recess on July 16, with the next hearing set for Oct. 11. The family stated that Tigran’s legal team had been denied access to him since July 26 in violation of the Nigerian constitution.

Worsening health

The family stated that Gambaryan’s health situation was deteriorating at the Kuje prison.

CryptoSlate previously reported that Gambaryan’s health was declining after he made his last court appearance in a wheelchair. At the time, the Judge issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Abuja prison doctor Abraham Ehizojie for failing to produce the medical report and directed that Gambaryan be admitted to a hospital for proper treatment.

However, the family statement revealed that this order has yet to be implemented as the prison authorities continue to withhold his medical records.

According to the family, Gambaryan is suffering from a herniated disc that requires complex and risky surgery. He has also experienced multiple throat infections, pneumonia, and malaria while in custody, leading to the need for additional surgery to remove his tonsils.

The family continued that he is currently on blood thinners to prevent clots.

Yuki Gambaryan, Tigran’s wife, appealed to the Nigerian government to release him to receive the urgent medical care he needed. She warned that his worsening condition could result in permanent damage and impair his ability to walk.

She also highlighted the emotional impact Gambaryan’s detention has on the family. She said:

“Life is becoming harder and harder every day for all of us because of Tigran’s absence.”

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A federal high court in Nigeria has dismissed a human rights lawsuit filed by Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla against the country’s National Security Adviser and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

On June 19, Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the case due to Anjarwalla’s lack of legal representation. Legal experts stated that this decision was expected, considering Anjarwalla fled the Nigerian authority’s custody in March and his lawyer, Tonye Krukrubo, subsequently withdrew from the case.

Anjarwalla, a dual British and Kenyan citizen, was one of the Binance executives the Nigerian government detained in February due to the regulatory issues associated with the exchange’s operations.

However, he escaped custody in March using a Kenyan passport, and his location remains unknown.

Gambaryan remains detained

Tigran Gambaryan, the other Binance executive, remains under Nigerian custody and is entangled in several legal battles against the authorities.

He is currently held at Kuje Prison and has a pending human rights enforcement application case against the Nigerian government. The case will be heard on July 9.

He also faces money laundering charges and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court denied him bail, considering him a flight risk.

Notably, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) recently dropped the charges against him, choosing to focus on the exchange instead.

Meanwhile, there are suggestions that the US government might intervene in Gambaryan’s continued detention. Recently, FBI Director Christopher Wray met with Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, further fuelling speculations about a diplomatic intervention.

Nonetheless, Binance has maintained that Gambaryan is not a major decision-maker at the firm and does not need to be held before it resolves its issues with the Nigerian government.

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Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has dropped tax evasion charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. Instead, the agency will focus solely on the exchange itself.

Alexander Onukwe, a Nigerian Journalist for Semafor, citing an e-mailed statement from Gambaryan’s representative, reported:

“FIRS to revise charges to serve solely on Binance through its local representative… [but] bogus EFCC charges against them remain.”

In March, the Nigerian tax regulator filed four counts of tax-related offenses against Binance and its executives. The charges included evading value-added tax (VAT) and company income tax, failing to file tax returns, and aiding customers in tax evasion.

Furthermore, Binance was accused of operating without registering with the FIRS, violating the country’s tax regulations.

Meanwhile, Gambaryan continues to face money laundering charges from Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The case was postponed to June 20 in May after concerns emerged over his wellbeing at the Kuje prison where he is currently held.

Binance has yet to respond to CryptoSlate’s request for comment as of press time.

Pressure mounts on Nigeria

This development marks the latest chapter in Binance’s ongoing issues in Nigeria.

Over the past weeks, various groups, including US lawmakers and former federal prosecutors, have urged President Joe Biden to intervene in the continued detention of Gambaryan. According to them, the Binance executive is being wrongfully detained and was charged with several baseless crimes.

However, the Nigerian government continues to maintain that the defendants, both Gambaryan and Binance, will have the opportunity to defend themselves against the charges in court.

Gambaryan is a US citizen who heads the crypto exchange’s financial crime compliance department. He and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were apprehended upon their arrival in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Feb. 26. Anjarwalla escaped custody on March 22.

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Binance CEO Richard Teng has called for the release of Tigran Gambaryan, the exchange’s detained executive in Nigeria.

In an extensive May 7 blog post, Teng said Gambaryan’s detention was unjust and set a dangerous precedent. He said:

“To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”

Gambaryan is a US citizen who heads the crypto exchange’s financial crime compliance department. He and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were apprehended upon their arrival in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on Feb. 26. Anjarwalla escaped custody on March 22.

Teng pointed out that Gambaryan “did not go to Nigeria as a ‘decision-maker,’ nor a ‘negotiator.’ He was merely acting as a functional expert in financial crime and capacity building in policy discussions.”

He accused Nigeria of detaining the Binance employee as a part of efforts to exert control over the exchange.

According to Teng:

“The message from the Nigerian government is clear: we must detain an innocent, mid-level employee and a former US federal agent, and place him in a dangerous prison in order to control Binance.”

He concluded that Nigeria should “let Tigran go home to his family, and then Binance will work through the same process that we have done with Nigeria’s law enforcement community voluntarily more than 600 times in the past.”

Binance makes bribe allegations against Nigeria

In his blog post, Teng revealed that the exchange received requests from “unknown persons,” purporting to be representatives of Nigeria’s House Committee on Financial Crimes (HCFC), demanding a “significant payment in crypto to be paid in secret.”

Teng refrained from revealing further details regarding the amount requested.

The New York Times reported that an individual associated with the Nigerian government approached Gambaryan and asked for a bribe amounting to approximately $150 million in crypto.

However, Teng said the exchange declined the “payment demand” because it did not “view it to be a legitimate settlement offer.”

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