Yuki Gambaryan, wife of Tigran Gambaryan, the detained Binance executive currently trial in Nigeria, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to drop the charges against her husband.
Her plea comes in the wake of the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s decision (FIRS) to drop tax charges against Gambaryan on June 14.
Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, was arraigned along with Binance Holdings Limited on April 8 on allegations of money laundering. The five-count charge was brought before Judge Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Yuki Gambaryan urged the EFCC to emulate the FIRS’s decision. “He is suffering immensely under the strain of this injustice. I respectfully urge the EFCC to follow the example set by their colleagues at the FIRS (tax authority) and drop the charges against Tigran,” she said.
Yuki highlighted the severe impact of Tigran’s continued detention on his health and family. “As I have stated many times before and as the evidence in court is showing, Tigran has never been a decision-maker at Binance, and there is no justification for his continued detention. It is time for the Nigerian authorities to do the right thing and release my innocent husband. This situation has gone too far.”
She also revealed that Tigran’s health has significantly deteriorated while in detention. “He has had double pneumonia and malaria whilst in prison,” Yuki said, adding that he also suffers from numbness in his foot and back pain.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the Federal High Court in Abuja directed the Kuje correctional facility to release Gambaryan’s medical records to his lawyers, covering his hospital visit on June 3.
The ongoing trial saw the cross-examination of a witness from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — the first witness presented by the EFCC — completed on Tuesday. The trial has been adjourned to July 5.
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