A Nigerian court dismissed on June 19 a wrongful detention lawsuit brought forward by fugitive Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla after the country dropped tax charges against him and still detained the Binance compliance chief.
According to a June 20 report from Nigeria’s Punch News, Judge Inyang Ekwo rejected Anjarwalla’s litigation grounds of lacking “diligent prosecution.”
Anjarwalla reportedly had no legal representative available on his behalf during the hearing.
The Binance regional manager and Gambaryan found themselves in hot water with Nigerian officials when they were detained in late February of this year for allegedly breaking the country’s anti-money laundering laws, though legitimacy concerns have swirled over the claims.
Anjarwalla was able to escape in March and has managed to evade authorities since, despite the government of Nigeria’s collaboration with INTERPOL to secure his recapture.
On June 14, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) formally dismissed the tax charges against the crypto executives, though charges brought forth by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have yet to be dropped.
Gambaryan, however, is still in custody despite reports of declining health and petitions from family and friends to release the imprisoned crypto exchange employee as conditions within the detention facility appear dire.
Some charges against Binance exec and former IRS crypto crime investigator Tigran Gambaryan were dropped today in Nigeria. He's still in jail, still sick, still facing charges from another agency, Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Press release from his family: pic.twitter.com/eY2TLyFmfL
— Andy Greenberg (@agreenberg at the other places) (@a_greenberg)
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