A New York Times report says the case involving Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) strained the ties between Nigeria and the United States.
The report noted that Gambaryan, who was discharged by a court this week, contracted malaria and pneumonia while in Nigeria, revealing that he also had a herniated disk.
Gambaryan, a compliance officer for Binance, was held on money-laundering charges for 10 months as part of a Nigerian government case against the company. In March 2024, his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, had escaped from the Abuja guest house where he and his colleague were detained after guards on duty led him to a nearby mosque for prayers during a Ramadan fast.
But Gambaryan’s case went on eight months before he was discharged on Wednesday. He departed Nigeria for the US the following day. “On Thursday, a plane equipped with medical equipment departed Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to bring him back to the United States. During his detention, Mr. Gambaryan had contracted malaria and double pneumonia, and he has a herniated disk,” the report noted.
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