Binance CEO Tigran Gambaryan, who has now spent more than six months in a Nigerian prison, is suffering from “rapidly deteriorating” health conditions, according to the company’s CEO.
In a new blog post, Binance CEO Richard Teng says Gambaryan can no longer walk and is in urgent need of medical care.
“Tigran’s physical and mental condition has rapidly deteriorated, and his situation is now more dire than ever. He is in severe pain and cannot walk due to a hernia. Despite his condition, the Nigerian government has denied him adequate medical care, including basic necessities such as access to a wheelchair.”
Gambaryan, head of the cryptocurrency exchange’s Financial Crime Compliance team, was first arrested by Nigerian authorities in February and charged with crimes related to Binance’s activities in that country.
Although Gambaryan’s trial in a Nigerian court is expected to begin on September 2, Teng says he has been denied access to legal advice.
Teng objects to authorities detaining an employee in response to allegations against Binance’s activities and calls on Nigeria to release Gambaryan.
“There is no need to jail an innocent employee to ensure accountability for any allegations against Binance. We have resolved issues with governments in countries around the world, including the US, Thailand and most recently Brazil and India, in a reasonable, collaborative and friendly manner. All this happened without threat or harm to our employees.”
The Nigerian government had charged Binance, Gambaryan and another director, Nadeem Anjarwalla, with four counts of tax evasion after the platform allegedly failed to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). In June, tax evasion charges against Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were dismissed. However, both still face money laundering charges, which they deny.
In February, Gambaryan was arrested along with his colleague Anjarwalla, who managed to flee the country. Gambaryan had traveled to Nigeria to participate in regulatory discussions.
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