A judge in Abuja has rejected a bail application for Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Vice President for Global Intelligence and Investigations, according to an email from a family representative to ForkLog.
The decision was made despite clearly demonstrated medical grounds and contradicts established judicial practices in Nigeria, the press release stated.
Gambaryan, a US citizen, and Nadim Anjarwalla, the director of the exchange in West and East Africa, were detained following a meeting with the country’s authorities in February. Along with Binance Holdings Limited, they were accused of tax evasion and money laundering. The company and its executives deny the charges.
At the end of March, Anjarwalla secretly flew from Nigeria to Kenya. However, authorities tracked him down there and arranged for extradition.
In May, the court denied Gambaryan bail.
Due to the conditions in the local prison, his physical health deteriorated sharply. The executive suffers from a herniated disc, as well as bouts of pneumonia, malaria, and tonsillitis.
In June, US Representatives French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan, who visited Gambaryan in prison, stated that he was not receiving adequate medical care. Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, refuted their claims.
In September, the executive appeared at renewed court hearings on crutches, having been denied a wheelchair.
His wife, Yuki Gambaryan, has called on the US State Department to intervene. She believes the government is the last hope for her husband’s return home.
Commenting on the latest bail denial, she noted that several doctors, including the prison physician, have clearly stated that Tigran cannot receive the necessary care while incarcerated. Meanwhile, he has lost the ability to move without assistance, and the health consequences could become irreversible.
“We all know that Tigran never made decisions at Binance and that he is completely innocent, but I am not surprised by this refusal,” said Gambaryan’s wife.
Back in September 27, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao was released from a US prison.
Earlier this month, the exchange permanently removed its largest shareholder from management. Some experts believe that Gambaryan, as well as Yi He, a partner and mother of Zhao’s children, could act as Zhao’s proxies within the company.