Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan will reportedly remain imprisoned in Nigeria after a judge denied his request to post bail.
According to a new report by Bloomberg, Gambaryan, a former agent of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Binance’s current crypto compliance officer, had his request for bail rejected by a justice of Nigeria’s Federal High Court.
Gambaryan was arrested in February and accused of money laundering and operating an unlicensed financial institution.
He and a colleague initially traveled to the African nation to engage in regulatory talks, according to previous reports. Gambaryan was imprisoned shortly thereafter while his colleague managed to escape. In August, it was reported that Gambaryan’s health had been deteriorating in prison.
Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, asked the court to grant Gambaryan bail so he could receive medical care for his herniated disc.
However, according to Bloomberg, Justice Emeka Nwite said that someone having health issues “does not entitle them to leave custody, unless the continuous stay of the detainee possesses a harm to others and quarantine isn’t available,” though he did tell the prison to refer Gambaryan to a hospital for treatment.
In a previous statement, Binance chief executive Richard Teng contested the Nigerian government’s claims of currency manipulation. He also referred to Gambaryan’s treatment as “inhumane.”
“Another claim made by the Nigerian government was that Binance was responsible for its currency’s decline, which is not backed up by facts…
The Naira traded at a recent low of USD1:1,660 on July 31, 2024, representing a 50% decline from the start of 2024. This downward trend continued despite Binance ceasing to offer P2P (peer-to-peer) services in the country in February 2024.”
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