Nigeria drops charges against Biance chief executive, Gambaryan, on diplomatic grounds

The Federal government has dropped all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings, who has been facing a money laundering trial.

Ekene Iheanacho, Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) confirmed the withdrawal of the charges at the Federal High Court Abuja, before Justice Emeka Nwite on Wednesday morning.

He said the charges were dropped because of “diplomatic issues” and that Gambaryan’s health has worsened.

EFCC lawyer said Mr Gambaryan, a United States citizen, was merely an employee of Binance, whose activities he was being prosecuted for.

Counsel to Gambaryan, Mark Mordi, agreed with the prosecution, saying that his client was not involved in the company’s broader financial decisions.

The hearing is coming two days before the 25 October earlier scheduled as the return date by the trial judge in the open court last Friday.

Recall the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had rejected his second bail application on 11 October, ruling that Mr Gambaryan’s grounds of ill health were not sufficient to release him from detention.

The judge then fixed 18 October for continuation for trial but mister Gambaryan was absent on health grounds, according to prison.

The judge later rescheduled the trial for 25 October, which appears to have now been overtaken by the event of Wednesday’s unpublicised hearing.

Gambaryan has been facing money laundering trial from detention since April, 2024.