Court Adjourns Binance Money Laundering Trial to June Due to Executive’s Ailment

On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned its money laundering trial against two Binance executives to June 20 due to the ailment of its Head of Financial Crimes Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan.

Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and British-Kenyan national Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Africa, were charged with tax evasion and money laundering for $35 million. They both pleaded not guilty.

This was due to the Federal Government’s blame on Binance that the U.S. dollar on the cryptocurrency exchange platform was pegged against its Naira, hence the crackdown.

Gambaryan, however, broke down during the trial on Thursday.

According to a letter written by his lawyer to the trial Judge, Emeka Nwite, “Gambaryan is very ill and requires comprehensive medical attention,” he said.

Judge Nwite ruled that Gambaryan should be treated at the hospital requested by his lawyer or any other recommended by prison authorities. He adjourned for the trial to continue on June 20 and 21, 2024.

Meanwhile, with the deterioration of his health status, Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, fears that his healthy husband might be facing an environment that would bring the strongest to his knees.

Yesterday, despite numerous signs of severe illness, my husband was still required to appear in court, where he later collapsed, Yuki said.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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