The Nigerian Government has officially dropped all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, a key executive at Binance Holdings, who had been standing trial for money laundering while in detention since April 2024.
This development was announced by a lawyer representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the prosecuting body, at a session of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
In court, the EFCC’s lawyer explained that the charges against Mr. Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, were being withdrawn as he was merely a Binance employee and not the individual responsible for the company’s actions under scrutiny.
“Mr. Gambaryan, a United States citizen, was merely an employee of Binance, whose activities he was being prosecuted for,” the lawyer stated.
Mark Mordi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and counsel for Mr. Gambaryan, supported the prosecution’s decision, reiterating that his client had no direct role in Binance’s broader financial operations.
He emphasized that Mr. Gambaryan’s role within the company did not involve any decision-making capacity related to the allegations.
Mr. Gambaryan, alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, had faced allegations of money laundering amounting to $35 million, brought against them by the EFCC.
The charges were part of a wider investigation into Binance’s activities in Africa and its compliance with financial regulations.
While Gambaryan was detained following his arraignment, his co-defendant Anjarwalla fled lawful custody on March 22, 2024.
After his arrest in April, Gambaryan was ordered to be remanded at Kuje Correctional Facility, where he had remained during the trial proceedings.
With the dismissal of charges, Gambaryan’s involvement in the case concludes, though the whereabouts of Anjarwalla, who escaped custody, remain unknown.
