Gambaryan Family Says Binance Executive Is Being Denied Access to Lawyers, Health Is Deteriorating

Tigran Gambaryan, the U.S. Binance employee held in Nigeria, is being “denied adequate access to his legal team and his health is deteriorating rapidly,” his family said in an emailed statement to CoinDesk on Monday.

Gambaryan was brought by wheelchair to an Abuja, Nigeria courtroom for a hearing on July 16th. The court then went on holiday, with the next hearing set for Oct. 11th. His legal team has not been allowed to visit him in Kuje prison since July 26 and he is now bedridden, according to the email.

“Tigran’s lawyers have filed a request for his case to be heard over the recess period,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk in an email.

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission and Nigeria’s Financial Crimes Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The family also said the “prison continues to hold” the executive’s medical records despite a court order for officials at the prison to release them.

“The herniated disc in Tigran’s back requires highly specialized and risky surgery. He has had so many throat infections as well as pneumonia at Kuje, that he now also requires a further surgery to remove his tonsils. As he is mostly bedridden, he is now having to take blood thinners to avoid blood clots,” the family said.

The case has prompted members of the U.S. Congress to ask President Joe Biden’s administration to help bring him back to the U.S. The former Internal Revenue Service agent and Binance’s current head of financial crime compliance, has been detained since voluntarily traveling to Nigeria in February. He was charged with money laundering and pleaded not guilty. Earlier tax charges were dropped in June.

“Tigran has been detained for over 150 days and his physical health is deteriorating. Binance remains committed to continuing to work with the Nigerian government to resolve this,” a Binance spokesperson said in an email.

Read More: Detained Binance Exec Tigran Gambaryan Wheeled into Nigerian Court as Health Deteriorates

UPDATE (Aug. 12, 14:40 UTC): Adds comment from Binance in last paragraph.