Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to drop charges against her husband.
In a statement on Tuesday, Yuki Gambaryan expressed her concerns over her husband’s continued detention, citing his deteriorating health and the family’s growing difficulties. “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 stated.
On June 14, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) dropped its tax charges against Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime compliance. However, in April, the EFCC arraigned Binance Holdings Limited and Gambaryan on allegations of money laundering. The case involves a five-count charge brought before Judge Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Yuki Gambaryan reiterated that her husband has never been a decision-maker at Binance, arguing there is no justification for his continued detention. “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.”
According to the statement, Gambaryan’s health has significantly worsened in detention, with complaints of numbness in his foot, back pain, double pneumonia, and malaria. The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Kuje Correctional Facility to release his medical records, covering his hospital visit on June 3, to his lawyers.
On Tuesday, the cross-examination of a witness from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the first witness presented by the EFCC in the ongoing trial, was completed. The trial has been adjourned to July 5.
