Nigeria\u2019s anti-corruption agency has dropped a money-laundering case against a top cryptocurrency executive to allow him to get medical treatment abroad.<\/p>\n
Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen, was arrested on a business trip to Nigeria in February and later charged alongside his company Binance with laundering $35.4m (\u00a328m) – which they denied.<\/p>\n
The 40-year-old was in charge of financial crime compliance at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange that Nigeria blames for much of its recent economic turmoil.<\/p>\n
It accused the digital platform – where investors can buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies – of fixing exchange rates and currency speculation leading to the free-fall of the local currency.<\/p>\n
The charges against Binance, including tax evasion offences that it denies, were part of a clampdown by the Nigerian authorities on cryptocurrency firms in general over fears they were being used for money laundering and financing terrorism.<\/p>\n
Mr Gambaryan\u2019s family has been calling for his release over concerns about his health, saying conditions at the Kuje Correctional Centre – a prison in the capital, Abuja where he had been held since April – were exacerbating a back problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe herniated disc in his back has worsened to the point where it might leave permanent damage and affect his ability to walk,\u201d his wife Yuki said in August.<\/p>\n
The High Court judge has twice denied him bail, saying he was a potential flight risk.<\/p>\n
This followed the escape from custody of his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan dual national who was Binance\u2019s Africa regional manager.<\/p>\n
He was arrested alongside Mr Gambaryan in February but fled the country<\/a> within weeks of the pair being put under house arrest – and is still wanted by the Nigerian authorities.<\/p>\n According to the Reuters news agency, Gambaryan\u2019s trial was adjourned last Friday as he was not able to appear because of illness.<\/p>\n The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) then announced in court in Abuja on Wednesday that it was dropping the case against him.<\/p>\n “We have withdrawn the money laundering charges against Tigran Gambaryan to allow him to get medical treatment outside the country,” Reuters quotes EFCC lawyer Ekele Ihenacho as saying.<\/p>\n The tax evasion charges filed against Binance by the Federal Inland Revenue Service will still be pursued in court.<\/p>\n Binance has also fallen foul of US laws. Last November its founder Changpeng Zhao resigned and in April was sentenced to four months in prison<\/a> for allowing criminals to launder money on his platform.<\/p>\nMore Nigeria stories from the BBC:<\/h2>\n