Nigeria Drops Money Laundering Charges Against Binance Executive

Highlights: 

• The Nigerian government has dropped the money laundering charges against the Binance executive.
• In a court hearing, the prosecution stated that Gambaryan is a mere Binance employee.
• Crypto users hail the decision for his release after months in detention. 

The Nigerian government has dropped the money laundering charges against Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan. This brings an end to the long detention of Gambaryan after his arrest earlier this year. Global authorities have ramped up scrutiny on crypto firms citing investor protection concerns. 

Nigerian Government Drops Money Laundering Charges

On Oct 23, the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) withdrew charges against the Binance executives on multiple grounds. The lawyer representing the prosecution informed the court of the new government stance borne out of developing events. 

After a review of the facts, the prosecution stated that Gambaryan is a mere employee of Binance and as such is not involved in certain decisions. The prosecution added that his status is of no major impact on the facts at hand. Furthermore, the EFCC cited diplomatic relations with the United States after several meetings. To this end, the Nigerian government discontinued the charges against the Binance executive. 

Defense Lawyer Demands Acquittal for Binance Executive

Following the prosecution’s request, the defense lawyer, Mark Modi SAN, did not object but prayed to the court for more. He added that since the withdrawal of charges by the EFCC is based on the fact that he is a mere Binance employee, the appropriate order should be an acquittal rather than a mere discharge.

Nigeria has dropped charges against Tigran Gambryan, a Binance executive arrested in February 2024 and initially charged with tax evasion and money laundering. https://t.co/rminSCrndL

— TechCabal (@TechCabal) October 23, 2024

In his ruling, the Federal High Court Judge Emeka Nwite struck out the money laundering charges as prayed by the prosecution and ordered the immediate release of the executive from the Nigerian Correctional Service.

He said:

“The application of the prosecution’s counsel is granted as prayed, having reviewed the circumstances of the charge. The second defendant is hereby discharged.” 

Gambaryan’s Prolonged Ordeal

This ruling brings an end to the seven-month-long detention of Gambaryan. On Feb 28, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) detained Gambaryan and Nadeem Arjarwalla, a British-Kenyan citizen. Both men came to discuss with the government after allegations impacting the local currency.

The Nigerian government accused Binance and crypto exchanges of negatively impacting the naira as its currency lost value rapidly. As a result, the country banned P2P transactions and subsequently banned crypto exchanges in the country. The government leveled money laundering charges against Gambaryan and Binance leading to this point. 

During his detention, Gambaryan developed health challenges sparking wider concerns. The crypto community, policy watchers, and his family pushed for his release due to health grounds with heavy criticism on the government. Arjarwalla fled the country and was reportedly seen in Kenya.