WASHINGTON (AP) — An American cryptocurrency executive held in Nigeria for the past eight months has been released after Nigerian authorities announced they were ending his money laundering trial for health and diplomatic reasons.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement announcing his release Thursday that Binance’s head of financial crimes compliance, Tigran Gambariyan, has been released on humanitarian parole to undergo treatment. He said he was returning to the United States.
“I am grateful to my Nigerian colleagues and partners for the productive discussions that led to this step and look forward to working closely with them on the many areas of cooperation that are important to the bilateral partnership between our two countries. Sullivan said.
Gambariyan was arrested in February while on a business trip to Nigeria with Nadeem Anjarwala, the company’s Africa regional manager, but Anjarwala escaped from custody and remains at large.
Nigerian authorities have accused Binance and Gambarian, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, of using their platforms to launder up to $35 million and manipulate the local currency, the Naira. This is denied.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest crypto economy in terms of trade volume, with many citizens turning to cryptocurrencies to hedge their finances against soaring inflation and the devaluation of the local currency.
But as users have grown and governments have struggled to stabilize their currencies, government officials have publicly claimed, without providing evidence, that the platform is being used for money laundering and terrorist financing. The government was forced to suspend all local currency transactions on the platform.
On Wednesday, RU Adaba, the prosecuting lawyer for the Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, told the Federal High Court in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, that the government had “considered several important international and diplomatic reasons” before closing the case. Then he said.
Binance is still facing charges of tax evasion and operating without the necessary licenses.
Gambarian’s trial is surrounded by controversy, including allegations that he and his colleagues were illegally detained and their passports confiscated. Binance also claimed that Nigerian authorities demanded bribes to release him and Anjarwala.
The Nigerian government denies the bribery allegations and defends the prosecution, saying it followed the rule of law.
Gambarian’s health worsened as the trial dragged on. A court in Abuja twice denied him bail after a judge ruled he was a flight risk and should remain in the capital’s Kuje prison.
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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.
