- Tigran Gambaryan’s health remains in doubt.
- Nigerian Correctional Service officials have failed to comply with court directives.
- The Binance executive’s recent worrying appearance came during a cross-examination of an SEC director.
Outfitted plainly in a simple black t-shirt and creased grey pants, he was in the pew among the crowd, sharing quiet counsel with those who would see him free. A curt nod. A short-lived smile. Quick, concise replies. The determination and focus in his eyes shine through despite a weary and disheveled appearance that tells the story of months of being denied autonomous care and reported mistreatment.
Tigran Gambaryan limps to the front as he is called to the dock to act as second defendant in the money laundering case brought against him and his employer. Over 100 days into his forced detainment, the Binance executive walks, head held high, knowing half of the charges against him have fallen. But the battle is not done.
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Unfortunately, even courage can be eroded. As he sits in the booth, Gambaryan struggles to hold back fits of coughing, taking refuge on the bar to rest his head, though he refuses to linger. Suspicions of an underlying illness were first raised when he slumped in a May 23 hearing, given credence.
Binance’s Tigran Gambaryan’s Medical Fitness Still in Doubt
One month and one week after Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the Nigerian Correctional Service to transfer Gambaryan to a capable medical facility for treatment, the state of the Binance executive’s health remains in doubt.
In a Monday, July 1 hearing observed by my colleague, DailyCoin reporter Grace Abidemi, the visibly sick Binance executive’s lawyers contended that his health was “still at risk,” highlighting that the court had yet to receive the results of Gambaryan’s tests despite previously requesting them.
When Justice Nwite asked why these test results had yet to be provided, prosecutors sidestepped the question to stress that the Binance executive had been treated. At the same time, a representative of the Nigerian Correctional Service claimed not to have been aware of the request for the medical results.
Unsatisfied with these responses, however, the judge demanded the submission of the test results of the Binance executive, who has reportedly been suffering from malaria and double pneumonia, by Friday, July 5.
The recent contention over the state of Gambaryan’s health followed the defense’s lengthy grilling of a representative of the Nigerian SEC to upend claims that Binance had engaged in the unlicensed offer and sale of securities.
Nigeria’s SEC Taking a Page From Gensler?
Monday’s hearing had kicked off with the cross-examination of SEC Director Abdulkadir Babo Abbas, who on May 17 testified that Binance had operated as an unlicensed securities exchange in Nigeria and facilitated the manipulation of the naira exchange rate through its peer-to-peer (p2p) platform.
In the recent cross-examination, Abbas contended that the existing definition of a security in the Investment and Securities Act 2007 covered virtual assets, regardless of whether the rules explicitly name the asset classโa stance that eerily echoed the widely contested views of U.S. SEC Chair Gary Gensler that existing securities laws cover and are sufficient to guide crypto markets and service providers.
In addition to this claim that an over decade and a half rule covered virtual assets, Abbas argued that the SEC had the power to determine whether a firm was offering securities, which is the agency’s conclusion about Binance.
Abbas, however, appeared more evasive when questioned about whether the SEC had reviewed the naira exchange rate within the contested period of December 2022 and May 2024 and Binance’s previous attempts to reach out to the SEC to kick off registration processes, which had been met with no response from the agency.
The SEC director failed to answer the former while asserting that the exchange’s efforts to contact the agency did not permit it to operate in the country without a license.
The hearing is slated to continue on Tuesday, July 2, focusing more on Gambaryan, the second defendant.
On the Flipside
- The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Nigeria’s tax authority on June 14 dropped tax evasion charges against Gambaryan following Binance’s appointment of an agent in the country.
- The Nigerian Correctional Service officers’ failure to deliver Gambaryan’s test results would not be the first time they have failed to comply with the court’s requests in the case. The service had earlier ignored the court’s request to treat Gambaryan at a prominent hospital or an equivalent and instead treated him at Kuje prison’s local clinic.
- Binance has continually maintained that Gambaryan has no decision-making power at the firm and, as such, should not have to represent it in legal proceedings.
Why This Matters
Binance’s Tigran Gambryan has been in Nigeria for 126 days, or about four months, far away from his family and friends.
Read this for all the details of the Tigran Gambaryan detention saga:
Tigran Gambaryan Is Still Detained After 100+ Days: What’s Going On?
See why an XRP ETF makes sense to Ripple President Monica Long:
Why an XRP ETF Makes Sense According to Ripple President
