Nigerian court drops charges against detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan The Record from Recorded Future News

pppLeadershipppCybercrimeppNationstateppElectionsppTechnologyppCyber DailyppClick Here Podcastpp Free Newsletterpp A Nigerian court has dropped all charges against Tigran Gambaryan Binances head of financial crime compliance and a prominent former IRS investigator two people with knowledge of the case told The Record on Wednesday  pp Gambaryan had been detained in Nigeria since February on money laundering and tax evasion charges His trial had already started when the court made the surprise announcement  pp The court said it was dropping charges against Gambaryan so he could seek medical treatment outside the country though its unclear if Gambaryan is still in Nigeria A spokesman said the family is not commenting at this time  pp Nigerian officials said that they would continue to pursue a tax evasion case against Binance itself pp READ MORE Detained execs a bold escape and tax evasion charges Nigeria takes aim at Binance pp A government spokesperson told the New York Times that Gambaryan will be released on humanitarian grounds due to his worsening health Gambaryan had been held in the Kuju prison outside Abuja the Nigerian capital and among other things had suffered from malaria and a herniated disc while in custody  His lawyers had been seeking medical treatment for him for months  pp Gambaryan is a celebrated figure in law enforcement He helped pioneer techniques that allowed investigators to trace cryptocurrency used in illicit transactions He is credited with helping bring some landmark cryptocurrency cases and was involved in the arrests of Ross Ulbricht who ran the Silk Road dark market and AlphaBays Alexandre Cazes  pp After years at the IRS he took a job with Binance in September 2021 and said that he wanted to spearhead the companys efforts to eradicate illegal activity on the exchange  pp The Nigerian government detained Gambaryan and Binances regional manager for Africa Nadeem Anjarwalla in February shortly after a scheduled meeting with the countrys financial compliance officials They claimed that Binance was manipulating the value of the Nigerian currency the naira and were evading taxes The naira has lost some 50 percent of its value this year   pp The two men were held in a government guest house without charge for a month before Anjarwalla managed to escape and fled the country Days later prosecutors filed money laundering and tax evasion charges saying that both Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were official representatives of Binance and therefore could be charged personally for crimes the government accused the company of committing  pp Many observers say Binance and by association Gambaryan and Anjarwalla was being held responsible for problems with the Nigerian economy and that it affected the value of the naira because it allowed buyers and sellers to trade the naira for cryptocurrency  pp Those buyers and sellers set the price of the naira Binance didnt Cryptocurrency transactions in Nigeria topped 567 billion in 2023 according to Chainalysis making it the second biggest market for digital coins in the world  pp According to Gambaryans wife Yuki detention has taken a toll on her husband and in August she told Reuters that his health had deteriorated   pp She told Recorded Future News Click Here podcast in March that some days are good but most days he just sounds very depressed He says it feels like a nightmare he cannot wake up from and I feel the same she said pp ppDina TempleRastonppis the Host and Managing Editor of the Click Here podcast as well as a senior correspondent at Recorded Future News She previously served on NPRs Investigations team focusing on breaking news stories and national security technology and social justice and hosted and created the awardwinning Audible Podcast What Were You ThinkingppJames Reddickpphas worked as a journalist around the world including in Lebanon and in Cambodia where he was Deputy Managing Editor of The Phnom Penh Post He is also a radio and podcast producer for outlets like Snap JudgmentppPrivacyppAboutppContact Uspp Copyright 2024 The Record from Recorded Future Newsp