Tigran Gambaryan’s Health Crisis
The incarceration of Tigran Gambaryan, the senior executive of Binance, has allegedly become more serious with the absence of legal aid and health care in Nigeria, although he is being held on criminal claims. Within his prison, the condition of Gambaryan has grown worse significantly, which led to his presence in an Abuja court on the 16th of July in a wheelchair. His family members state that Gambaryan has ended up paralyzed, mainly because of his back issues while being detained at Kuje prison.
Unlike Plateau State or Bauchi State, the Federal High Court judge, Emeka Nwite, ordered the poor prison’s medical staff to be arrested, but the move did not improve the situation. “Please, Nigerian government, release him so that he can come back to receive the medical treatment he is desperately crying out for before it is too late”, Yuki Gambaryan, his partner, appealed in a statement issued on the 12th of August.
Bygone the date, the sooner Gambaryan gets released by the court, he will have been incarcerated for more than half a year. Therefore, Binance, the biggest centralized cryptocurrency exchange, has continued to be the focal point in the battle that is yet to be resolved between the Nigerian government and the exchange.
Confiscation of Cryptos and other such Anti- Crypto Gstures:
At that moment, the arrest of Gambaryan seemingly symbolizes the government’s marginalization of Bitcoin-related activities. Gambaryan together with a colleague from Binace, Nadeem Anjarwalla, got to Nigeria in February as peacemakers for the crypto exchange and Nigerian regulators. Unfortunately for both of them, the police handcuffed Gambaryan, giving him the break that Anjarwalla escaped, but he is in a serious situation currently. He looks at tough charges with allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.
Despite the accusations, Gambaryan has been persistent in denying any guilt, and he has even sued for human rights violations. Binance CEO Richard Teng is also defending Gambaryan by saying that he didn’t have any decision-making powers in the exchange. Furthermore, Teng pointed out that some unnamed officials had demanded a lot of hush money, a statement that was strongly rejected by the Nigerian government.
Global Consequences
The case has attracted attention from around the globe, particularly from the side of American legislators who have called on President Joe Biden to get involved as Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and a former IRS agent, is involved. “We fear for his life,” wrote members of Congress in June, underlining the gravitas of the event as it unravelled over months.
This lawsuit is part of a larger movement in Nigeria opposing cryptocurrency platforms. The African country has experienced the closure of many exchanges, especially those in the peer-to-peer (P2P) market and those with limited services. Binance, KuCoin, and OKX have scaled down P2P trading in Nigeria due to increasing regulatory issues.
The situation is still very tight, as Gambaryan’s health is continually getting worse, and the global cryptocurrency community is closely watching for the outcome of his next court appearance.
