Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of detained Binance official Tigran Gambaryan, has claimed that her ailing husband is still being kept in Kuje prison despite a court ordering his transfer to a hospital for medical care.
In a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Yuki pleads with the Nigerian authorities to comply with the court order so that Gambaryan may receive appropriate medical care.
While pleading with President Bola Tinubu’s government to obey the court order and allow her husband to be transferred to the hospital, Mrs. Gambaryan called on the American government to help secure her husband’s release.
“I am devastated and shocked that, despite the court’s clear directive for his admission to a hospital, the authorities have not allowed him to leave the very prison causing his illness.”
Last week, Tigran Gambaryan slumped while appearing before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court over a money laundering charge.
Gambaryan previously failed to appear in court on the same day on a separate arraignment for tax evasion charges brought by the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). However, he did attend court for the money laundering charges.
Mark Mordi, Gambaryan’s legal representative, had notified the court on May 22 that his client had been unwell since the previous trial date and was still experiencing health problems.
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Aluko and Oyebode, Binance Holdings' legal representatives, have also expressed concerns about Gambaryan’s health. Partner C.J. Caleb detailed the concerns in a letter to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court.
Caleb mentioned that Gambaryan was given “intravenous (IV) treatment for malaria” by the healthcare staff. He also noted that the defendant equally suffered from a throat infection and added that the Kuje Medium Correctional Facility is currently undergoing renovation works, making it unsuitable for the medical treatment of the applicant.
Gambaryan’s illness occurred three months after he and colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla were arrested during an official visit to Nigeria in February.
In Nigeria, the cryptocurrency trading platform Binance faces numerous faces numerous charges, including allegations of money laundering and tax evasion totaling $35 million.
This comes amid a crackdown by Nigerian authorities by Nigerian authorities on cryptocurrencies, which they believe facilitate speculation and manipulation of the naira of the naira.
With the federal government blocking Binance’s website to its Nigerian users, the crypto trading giant disabled its P2P function and exited the Nigerian market.
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