Gambaryan’s Health Disregarded: Case Delayed Months While Reports Withheld

• Binance’s Tigran Gambryan’s health continues to deteriorate.
• Prison officials again disregarded court directives regarding the Binance executive’s medical test results.
• Gambaryan faces at least three more months of incarceration.

For over 141 days, Binance Chief Financial Crime Compliance Officer Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and former IRS Special Agent, has been held in Nigeria for alleged crimes committed by the exchange in the country despite having no influence over the firm’s operations.

While the Binance executive has been able to shake charges tied to tax evasion , money laundering charges continue to linger, setting the stage for an intense and controversial legal battle. As the legal battle drags on, however, his health has continued to worsen under harsh Nigerian prison conditions.

Gambaryan Arrives in a Wheelchair 

Tigran Gambaryan’s health has been a major talking point in the money laundering case brought by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), since he slumped during proceedings on May 23. Amid gross negligence from Nigerian Correctional Service officials, the Binance executive’s situation appears only to be steadily worsening over time.

In a Tuesday, July 16, hearing observed by my colleague, DailyCoin reporter Grace Abidemi , there was yet another noticeable change for the worse in Gambaryan’s appearance. Instead of walking in, Gambaryan was brought in a wheelchair, standing up only to limp to the dock.

Explaining Gambaryan’s wheelchair use, his lawyer, Mark Modi, told the court that the Binance executive was in severe pain and had developed a dilated disk, requiring an MRI from sleeping on the thin mattress provided in the prison cell.

The latest development comes as officials continue to withhold Gambaryan’s medical reports despite multiple court orders to release them. 

Prison Officials Continue To Disregard Court Orders

During the last hearing on July 5, Justice Emeka Nwite demanded that prison officials provide the prison doctor should they again fail to provide the results of the Binance executive’s medical tests today. During today’s trial, however, neither the medical test results nor the doctor were provided. 

Amid the continued disregard for the court’s directives, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Modi, urged the court to remand the Binance executive at a hospital instead of returning him to Kuje Prison, asserting that his client was “in a clearly precarious state of health.”

"We need to be careful that the life in our hands is not injured any further," the lawyer submitted.

In response to this request, Justice Nwite issued a bench warrant to the personnel in charge of the medical report to explain why it had not been provided. At the same time, he permitted the transfer of Gambaryan to a hospital for 24 hours for extensive medical checks under the supervision of security personnel.

Despite the recent court directives, Gambaryan’s prospects look significantly glum at the moment as his incarceration looks set to be extended for at least another three months.

Gambaryan’s Case Adjourned Till October 2024

At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, which, beyond concerns around Gambaryan’s health, saw cross-examination of a prosecution witness from the country’s central bank, Justice Nwite adjourned proceedings to October 11 and October 17.

The decision came as Nigerian Federal High Court judges are set to go on a long vacation from July 23 to September 13. The adjourned dates confirm fears from concerned U.S. lawmakers who had authored a resolution in Congress to clamor for the Binance executive’s 

release that his case would likely be unduly delayed due to the scheduled break.

On the Flipside 

• Binance is now the sole defendant in the tax evasion case following the company’s appointment of an agent in the country.
• At the current pace, the end of the Tigran Gambaryan case still looks far away.

Why This Matters

At the time of writing, Gambaryan has been in Nigerian detention for 141 days, or nearly five months, on what many, including his attorneys, have decried as bogus charges. With his health continuing to deteriorate under harsh prison conditions, the next three months promise to be significantly challenging for the Binance executive.

Read these to catch up on the Tigran Gambaryan detention saga and the happenings in the money laundering case:
Tigran Gambaryan Is Still Detained After 100+ Days: What’s Going On? Gambaryan’s “Liberty Is at Stake”: Lawyers Slam Witness Behavior