Charges against cryptocurrency executive Tigran Gambaryan have been dropped

Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency has dropped a money laundering case against a top cryptocurrency executive so he could receive medical treatment abroad.

Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen, was arrested in February during a business trip to Nigeria and was later charged along with his company Binance with laundering $35.4 million (£28 million), which they denied.

The 40-year-old was in charge of financial crimes compliance at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange that Nigeria blames for much of the recent economic turmoil.

It accused the digital platform – where investors can buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies – of fixing exchange rates and currency speculation that is leading to the freefall of the local currency.

The charges against Binance, including tax evasion offenses that it denies, were part of a crackdown by Nigerian authorities on cryptocurrency companies in general over fears they were being used for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Gambaryan’s family has called for his release amid concerns about his health. They say conditions at the Kuje Correctional Center – a prison in the capital Abuja where he has been held since April – aggravated a back problem.

“The hernia in his back has worsened to the point that it could cause permanent damage and affect his ability to walk,” his wife Yuki said in August.

The High Court judge twice denied him bail, saying he was a potential flight risk.

This followed the escape from custody of his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national who was Binance’s Africa regional manager.

He was arrested along with Gambaryan in February but fled the country within weeks of the couple being placed under house arrest – and still wanted by Nigerian authorities.

According to the Reuters news agency, Gambaryan’s trial was postponed last Friday because he could not appear due to illness.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) subsequently announced in court in Abuja on Wednesday that it would drop the case against him.

“We have withdrawn the money laundering charges against Tigran Gambaryan so that he can receive medical treatment outside the country,” Reuters quotes EFCC lawyer Ekele Ihenacho.

The tax evasion charges filed against Binance by the Federal Inland Revenue Service will still be prosecuted in court.

Binance has also violated US laws. The founder last November Changpeng Zhao resigned and was sentenced to four months in prison in April because he allowed criminals to launder money on his platform.