Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive detained in Nigeria, collapsed during his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. He faces charges of foreign exchange breaches and money laundering brought by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, informed the court on May 22 that his client had been unwell since his last trial appearance and continues to have health issues.
Gambaryan had missed a separate court appearance on the same day for tax evasion charges filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria. Despite this, he attended the money laundering court session. During the proceedings, Gambaryan did not respond when his name was called and remained seated. Justice Emeka Nwite noted his absence and sought clarification. Gambaryan’s defense lawyer then assisted him to the dock, but he suddenly collapsed and had to be helped to a front seat by his lawyer. Mordi explained that Gambaryan was unwell and had previously submitted a written application to inform the court of his condition.
Due to Gambaryan’s collapse, Mordi requested that his client’s trial be suspended for medical treatment. He argued that continuing the hearing under these circumstances was untenable. The court subsequently rescheduled the trial for June 20 and 21 for cross-examination and trial. Earlier, on May 16, the judge had denied Gambaryan’s bail request, citing EFCC concerns that he would be a flight risk if released from Kuje Correctional Center, where he is currently detained.
Gambaryan was transferred to Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja in April 2024 after pleading not guilty to the money laundering charges. In March, FIRS also filed tax evasion charges against Binance and its executives, including Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. The charges included failure to register with FIRS, failure to pay corporate income tax, failure to pay VAT, and facilitating tax evasion.
The Nigerian government has accused cryptocurrency exchanges of influencing foreign exchange rates and has called for stricter regulation of cryptocurrency trading platforms. Binance CEO Richard Teng recently stated that Nigerian officials attempted to force Binance representatives into a secret settlement paid in cryptocurrency during a meeting in early 2024. On March 5, Binance announced it would cease all trading of Nigerian naira, effectively exiting the market. Binance also delisted all Nigerian naira trading pairs from its peer-to-peer trading platform at the end of February.
