After seven months of detention, Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has been freed in Nigeria as the government dropped charges due to his deteriorating health. The case against Binance, however, continues, leaving the company's legal troubles far from over.

Nigeria Drops Charges Against Binance Exec After Months of Detention

After more than seven months of detention, the Nigerian government has decided to drop all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance.

According to a local news agency, Premium Times, the charges were dropped in the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 23 by an attorney representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the government prosecutor in Nigeria.

The prosecution's focus was on Binance, and the EFCC counsel claimed that US citizen Gambaryan wasn't playing a pivotal role there.

Hearing Quietly Held to Avoid Public Scrutiny

The allegations against Gambaryan were allegedly dismissed at a hearing that took place two days prior to the court session that was supposed to take place on October 25. All indications were that Wednesday's hearing was staged with the express purpose of avoiding public scrutiny, as stated in the report.

Various sources have pointed to different reasons for the dismissal of Gambaryan's claims, with Premium Times citing his lack of seniority at Binance as the primary one.

Health Concerns Take Center Stage

According to Reuters, the EFCC counsel dropped the charges so Gambaryan could get medical care in another country. Bloomberg Law cites unidentified people acquainted with the judgment as saying that the court dismissed the case due to Gambaryan's worsening health.

Mark Mordi, Gambaryan's lawyer, had maintained on multiple occasions that his client's health had deteriorated while he was a prisoner in Abuja's Kuje facility. The EFCC, on the other hand, raised objections, asserting that Gambaryan had inflated the gravity of his illness in his defense.

The Nigerian healthcare system, according to Mordi, was unable to handle Gambaryan's health problems, Cointelegraph shares.

Binance Exec Held Over Alleged Illicit Operations

After coming to Nigeria to resolve a dispute with Binance over its alleged illicit operations in the nation, Gambaryan was jailed by the Nigerian government in February. Gambaryan was a former United States federal agent specialized in cryptocurrency.

Bail Requests Rejected Over Flight Risk

The Nigerian authorities denied bail on two occasions and continued to jail Gambaryan after Binance announced its complete withdrawal from the country in early March.

In May, Judge Emeka Nwite first rejected Gambaryan's request for release, stating that Gambaryan posed a flight risk.

Court Denies Second Bail Despite Health Decline

Even though Gambaryan's health was deteriorating, Nwite denied his second bail request in October, saying that he should stay behind bars because "did not entitle prisoners to leave custody."

Money Laundering Investigation Against Binance Continues

Several sources have reported that Nigeria will proceed with its money laundering investigation against Binance, even though charges against Gambaryan have been dropped.