Binance exec nears 100 days in Nigerian custody without a bail ruling as trial looms

Another court hearing. Another delay.

This time it means Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan will be incarcerated in Nigeria for 100 days without a decision on whether he can make bail.

On Thursday, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the start of Gambaryan’s money laundering trial to May 17, the same day he previously scheduled for deciding whether he can be released on bond, according to court proceedings monitored by DL News.

As it happens, that is also Gambaryan’s 40th birthday.

It was another frustrating development for the US-based head of Binance’s financial crimes compliance unit.

Gambaryan has endured numerous delays and reversals ever since he was swept up in Binance’s worsening legal crisis in Africa’s most populous nation.

Not guilty plea

Gambaryan, former agent for the US internal Revenue Service, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His wife Yuki has pleaded with the US State Department to help get him released.

The Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission made the charges as part of a wide-ranging investigation into Binance’s operations in Nigeria.

The anti-corruption agency alleges Binance is facilitating the devaluation of the African nation’s fiat currency by permitting racketeers to unlawfully manipulate its price through trading of stablecoins and a digital version of the naira.

Even though it’s normal practice in most nations for defendants to get a decision on bail ahead of their trials, the case in Nigeria has been driven by a series of unorthodox decisions since it began more than a month ago.

Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, said Gambaryan is a victim of “state-sanctioned hostage-taking,” as he decried the unfairness of denying his client a decision on his bail request.

Binance and Gambaryan also face charges brought by Nigeria’s tax authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service. That case, too, has been chaotic.

Chaotic tax case

Gambaryan’s lawyers have argued that their client cannot be prosecuted on that charge because he does not have the standing or decision-making authority to represent Binance.

They said Binance must be served with charges before their client can enter a plea in the matter. Apparently, that hasn’t happened yet.

Justice Nwite adjourned the tax evasion hearing to May 17 for a ruling on whether Gambaryan will be ordered to enter a plea.

Gambaryan, meanwhile, is being held at Kuje Prison pending his bail hearing in a fortnight.

The Binance executive’s long incarceration in Nigeria was raised on April 30 by US Representative Rich McCormick, a Republican congressman from Georgia.

Speaking at a congressional hearing on Americans detained abroad, McCormick, who represents the district where Gambaryan lives with his wife Yuki, said he is trying to get Nigeria to release his constituent.

Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since he and Anjarwalla attended a meeting with government officials in late February to settle a dispute over Binance’s alleged role in the country’s currency woes.

Anjarwalla escaped from custody a month later and fled to Kenya. He is now the target of an Interpol red notice.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. To share tips or information about stories, please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.