Crypto trading platform Binance announced that the amended charges from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in its ongoing court case with the federal government will lead to the release of its detained official, Tigran Gambaryan.
FIRS had initially brought tax default charges against Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both officials of Binance.
However, the defendants’ lawyers consistently argued that neither Gambaryan nor Anjarwalla held decision-making roles at Binance and, therefore, should not bear tax obligations for the company.
In a court sitting in Abuja on Friday, FIRS agreed to revise their charges, focusing solely on Binance through its local representative.
The new charge alleges that Binance provided services to Nigerians without deducting Value Added Tax (VAT).
Following this development, Binance stated that Gambaryan would no longer need to appear in court for the FIRS case, indicating that Binance is now the sole defendant.
A Binance spokesperson commented, “This goes to show that both Tigran and Nadeem are not decision makers at Binance and should never have been detained and charged.”
Expressing relief over the new development, Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki Gambaryan, said, “I am glad the FIRS charges against Tigran have finally been dropped.
This clearly shows that any issues between the Nigerian authorities and Binance can be resolved without holding my husband in prison.
I sincerely hope the Nigerian authorities will now see how unnecessary it is to keep Tigran at Kuje.
I am praying that they now swiftly drop the EFCC charges against him so that this nightmare can finally come to an end.”
Yuki Gambaryan highlighted concerns about her husband’s health and the conditions of his detention.
“My biggest concern at the moment is Tigran’s deteriorating health and the awful conditions he is being kept in.
While at Kuje, he has had a serious infection, malaria, and now pneumonia and to make matters worse, we have no access to his medical records.
Despite the fact that he is clearly an innocent man, he is being treated as a dangerous criminal and his basic human rights are being neglected.
We really need the US government to intervene more forcefully for the immediate release of an innocent American citizen.”
She added, “This has gone on too long and Tigran’s life is at risk. My children and I just want him back so our family can be whole again.”
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 19, where the application for an order for the enforcement of fundamental rights will be heard.
On June 20, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) trial is due to continue.
Since collapsing in court on May 23 with malaria, Gambaryan’s health has worsened, and he now has pneumonia.
Despite a court order by Justice Emeka Nwite to take Gambaryan to the hospital immediately, his family alleged it took the prison authorities 11 days to provide a brief check-up, without releasing the results to the family.
On June 4, 16 US Members of Congress, including the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, wrote to President Biden highlighting that Gambaryan is a “U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government,” urging more action to secure his release.
On June 6, 108 former federal agents wrote to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asking him to push for Gambaryan’s release.
