- Safiu Kehinde
The Abuja Federal High Court has dismissed a suit filed by former Binance Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over alleged unlawful and prolonged detention.
Justice Umar Mohammed dismissed the case during its hearing on Thursday.
As disclosed in a statement issued on the EFCC’s official X handle, Gambaryan had reportedly filed the suit against the EFCC and the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
He sought compensation and costs over his purported prolonged detention by security operatives in connection with the Federal Government’s money laundering and foreign exchange contravention allegations against Binance.
However, Justice Umar, in his ruling, held that the court would not, under the guise of Gambaryan’s fundamental rights claims, “interfere” with the prosecutorial role of the Nigerian authorities in investigating suspected foreign exchange violations and alleged money laundering involving the Binance platform.
While the proceedings lasted, EFCC counsel, Olanrewaju Adeola told the court that Gambaryan was lawfully detained based on charges of money laundering foreign exchange violations.
He described the suit of the former Binance chief as a gross abuse of court processes”.
The EFCC’s position was upheld with the dismissal of the suit by the presiding judge.
Recall that the Federal Government had accused Binance of tax evasion and money laundering while holding the firm’s regional manager for Africa, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, in custody on their arrival to Nigeria in February 2024.
While Anjarwalla managed to escape from the custody, Gambaryan was left to face trial.
However, the EFCC would in October 2024 dropped the money laundering charges against the former Binance Executive due to his ill-health and diplomatic intervention.