UPDATED: FG Drops Money Laundering Charges Against Binance Executive Gambaryan

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged Binance executive, Tigran Gambayran, from money laundering charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

Justice Nwite discharged Gambaryan on Wednesday after the counsel to the EFCC, Ekene Iheanacho, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, announced the withdrawal of the money laundering charge against him.

When the matter was called up on Wednesday, the EFCC counsel said Mr Gambaryan, a United States citizen, was just an employee of Binance and was being prosecuted for his activities in Nigeria.

Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not oppose the motion for withdrawal, noting that his client was not involved in the company’s broader financial decisions.

The recent development may be the outcome of an alleged diplomatic lobbying by the U.S. government to secure Gambaryan’s release.

The Nigerian Government accused Binance Holdings Limited of concealing the origin of alleged unlawful financial proceeds, totaling $35,400,000, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

Gambaryan, who is Binance’s head of financial compliance, is one of two executives arrested in February in connection with the case.

While he remained in Kuje Correctional Center Abuja, Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for Binance in Africa on March 24, escaped, using a smuggled passport.

The WHISTLER had reported that the Court on October 11 denied Gambaryan’s fresh bail application filed on August 28 through his legal team.

However, on the last adjourned date, October 18, Gambaryan failed to appear in court, with his counsel informing the court that his absence was due to his deteriorating health condition.