Tigran
Gambaryan,
the
Binance
executive
who
has
been
detained
in
Nigeria
since
February,
limped
into
an
Abuja
courtroom
on
Monday,
dragging
his
left
leg
behind
him,
after
prison
authorities
denied
his
request
for
a
wheelchair.
In
a
video
uploaded
to
X
(formerly
Twitter)
on
Monday
afternoon,
a
distressed
Gambaryan
pleads
with
a
prison
guard
escorting
him
into
the
courtroom
for
help
walking.
“I’m
not
okay,
this
is
f*cked
up,”
Gambaryan
said
in
the
video,
as
he
clutched
the
guard’s
wrist
for
support.
When
the
guard
stepped
away,
leaving
Gambaryan
with
only
a
single
crutch
to
lean
on,
Gambaryan
turned
to
a
small
crowd
of
onlookers
and
said:
“He
was
told
not
to
help
me.
He
said
there’s
instruction
–
this
is
f*cked
up.
Why
couldn’t
I
use
a
goddamn
wheelchair?
This
is
a
show.
I’m
a
f*cking
innocent
person.
Why
are
you
doing
this
to
me?”
After
several
visibly
painful
steps,
Gambaryan
reached
again
for
the
guard’s
arm
for
support,
but
the
guard
snatched
his
arm
away,
telling
Gambaryan:
“Don’t
hold
me,
please.
You
can
walk.”
“I
can’t
f*cking
walk,
my
spine
is
–
this
is
f*cked
up.
I’m
a
f*cking
human,”
Gambaryan
said
in
the
video.
“I’m
not
f*cking
okay.”
Gambaryan’s
lawyers
filed
a
new
application
for
bail
on
medical
grounds
on
Monday,
urging
the
judge
to
release
him
so
he
can
receive
medical
care
for
conditions
he
has
developed
in
prison,
including
malaria,
pneumonia,
tonsillitis,
and
complications
from
a
herniated
disc
in
his
back
–
the
latter
of
which
has
left
him
in
severe
pain
and
nearly
unable
to
walk,
according
to
a
spokesperson
for
his
family.
A
prosecutor
for
the
Economic
and
Financial
Crimes
Commission
(EFCC)
–
the
entity
currently
prosecuting
Gambaryan
for
money
laundering
–
reportedly
opposed
the
bail
application,
arguing
that
Gambaryan
was
not,
in
fact,
in
ill
health
and
claiming
he
was
refusing
treatment.
Gambaryan’s
previous
bail
application
was
denied
in
May.
Authorities
of
Kuje
prison,
where
Gambaryan
has
been
held
since
March,
have
previously
refused
to
turn
over
Gambaryan’s
health
records
but,
according
to
a
family
spokesperson,
some
of
his
records
were
given
to
the
court
during
Monday’s
bail
hearing.
The
medical
records
indicate
a
need
for
immediate
surgery,
the
spokesperson
said,
but
“key
elements
of
the
record
including
an
MRI
scan
were
missing.”
In
addition
to
being
denied
adequate
medical
care,
Gambaryan
has
also
been
denied
proper
access
to
his
lawyers
and
U.S.
embassy
staff,
the
spokesperson
said.
“This
situation
is
entirely
unjust,”
Gambaryan’s
wife
Yuki
said
in
a
statement.
“The
U.S.
Government
must
do
more
to
help
Tigran.
I
urge
them
to
use
every
available
tool
to
free
an
innocent
American
who
is
at
risk
of
permanent
damage…This
entire
situation
is
inhumane
and
degrading,
and
I
am
fed
up.
There
must
be
consequences
for
this
disregard
of
law
and
human
rights.”
Scapegoat
for
Binance
Gambaryan,
a
former
U.S.
Internal
Revenue
Service
(IRS)
agent
and
Binance’s
head
of
financial
crime
compliance,
was
detained
in
Abuja
seven
months
ago,
shortly
after
voluntarily
traveling
to
Nigeria’s
capital
city
at
the
government’s
invitation.
At
first,
Gambaryan
and
his
colleague
Nadeem
Anjarwalla,
Binance’s
regional
manager
for
Africa
and
a
dual
Kenyan-British
national,
were
placed
under
house
arrest.
But
when
Anjarwalla
escaped
under
mysterious
circumstances
in
March,
Gambaryan
was
transferred
to
the
notoriously
dangerous
Kuje
prison
and
charged
with
tax
evasion
and
money
laundering
–
seemingly
as
a
scapegoat
for
his
employer,
which
Nigerian
officials
have
accused,
without
evidence,
of
tanking
the
value
of
the
national
currency,
the
naira.
The
tax
evasion
charges
were
later
dropped,
but
Gambaryan’s
money
laundering
trial
has
been
ongoing
since
June.
He
has
pleaded
not
guilty
to
all
charges.
So
far,
the
U.S.
government
has
failed
to
make
any
public
statement
about
Gambaryan’s
situation.
The
State
Department
told
CoinDesk
it
was
“aware
of
reports”
of
his
detention
in
March,
but
did
not
mention
Gambaryan
by
name.
A
White
House
spokesperson
referred
CoinDesk
to
the
State
Department
two
months
later,
after
multiple
requests
for
comment.
