Tigran Gambaryan’s Bail Hearing Postponed
Tigran Gambaryan, the executive director of Binance, has been in custody in Nigeria for almost 100 days. His detention is related to money laundering charges, however, the question of his release on bail has not been resolved yet. Last Thursday, Nigerian Federal Judge Emeka Nwite postponed Gambaryan’s case until May 17, adding even more uncertainty to the situation.
Gambaryan, a former agent of the US Tax Administration, denies his guilt on the charges. His wife Yuki has already appealed to the US State Department for help in his release. The accusations against Gambaryan were brought as part of a large-scale investigation into Binance’s activities in Nigeria.
Local authorities claim that Binance is involved in devaluing the country’s fiat currency by helping scammers manipulate prices through trading stablecoins and the digital version of the naira. Despite bail pending trial being a common practice in most countries, Nigeria is displaying unusual strictness in this case.
Gambaryan’s lawyer Mark Mordi criticizes the refusal to grant bail, calling the situation a «hostage-taking». He also claims that the charges cannot be directly brought against Gambaryan, as he does not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of Binance, and that the charges should first be brought against the company itself.
Legal proceedings and detentions are ongoing, and Gambaryan is still held in the «Kuje» prison in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, while further developments are awaited.
