Detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has petitioned an Abuja Federal High Court, seeking an order for the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) of Nigeria and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pay compensation for his prolonged detention in the country.
This was detailed in a statement made before the court by his lawyer, Tonye Krukrubo SAN, during a proceeding to determine the judgment in a fundamental rights suit filed on behalf of escaped colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla. This follows an amendment to an original motion to enforce Gambaryan’s fundamental human rights, initially filed in May.
Gambaryan claims his detention violated his rights and was used to pressure Binance, causing hardship to his family.
In his application, Krukrubo explained that Gambaryan visited Nigeria in February solely to honor the invitation of the NSA and the EFCC for a meeting with government officials as a representative of Binance. He added that his client was detained afterward and has not been released, despite not being a board member of Binance.
The lawyer urged the court to declare Gambaryan’s detention and the seizure of his international travel passport as violations of his fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. He also requested the court to perpetually restrain the security agencies from further detaining him for any investigation into the activities of the cryptocurrency exchange platform.
In a related development, Gambaryan has been arraigned by Nigerian authorities for tax evasion and laundering $35 million.
EFCC’s counsel, Olanrewaju Adeola, urged the court to reject the amendment application as incompetent and to impose a heavy cost. After hearing the parties, the judge overruled the EFCC counsel and directed Gambaryan’s lawyer to serve the amended motion on the respondents within two days.
The judge ordered the applicant to pay the respondents N50,000 for the cost of the processes they filed in the initial fundamental rights suit. He adjourned the hearing on the case until June 19.
Meanwhile, Tigran’s wife, Yuki Gambaryan, has called on the U.S. government to intervene more forcefully in the lingering detention and prosecution. “Tigran’s and my tax dollars get sent to Nigeria in aid every year. Nigeria is supposed to be an ally. I refuse to believe that our State Department cannot do more to have an innocent American citizen released,” she said in a statement shared with Techmoonshot.
According to her, it is time for the Nigerian authorities to do the right thing and let her “innocent husband” go. “Since the FIRS charges were dropped last week and they agreed to serve those charges solely on Binance, I do not see why the EFCC cannot do the same,” she added.
In contrast, the Federal High Court recently struck out a fundamental rights suit filed by escapee Binance Executive Nadeem Anjarwalla against the NSA and EFCC. Presiding over the case, Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered the verdict after Anjarwalla’s legal team failed to appear during the proceedings. The judge emphasized that despite the case being scheduled for mention, there was no representation for the applicant.
Anjarwalla, who escaped lawful custody on March 22 and reportedly fled to Kenya, along with his colleague Tigran Gambaryan, had initiated separate legal actions (suits marked FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24) alleging that their detention and the seizure of his international travel passport violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“The continued detention of the Applicant by the Respondents is causing immense hardship and emotional stress on the Applicant, his wife, children, and other family members,” the application stated.
Justice Ekwo struck out Anjarwalla’s fundamental rights case “for want of diligent prosecution.” The court has scheduled July 9 for a hearing on Gambaryan’s suit.
