The Federal Government of Nigeria has dropped the money laundering case against Binance executive and American citizen Tigran Gambaryan who has been jailed in the African nation for the past 264 days. The arrest and subsequent jail of Tigran had resulted in widespread condemnation of Nigeria and international pressure from US lawmakers ahead of US presidential elections.
According to Reuters and Bloomberg media reports, all money laundering charges against Tigran has been dropped by the government of Nigerian. The decision comes just weeks ahead of the U.S. Presidential elections where the prolonged jail of a US Citizen was a much debated topic.
Tigran, former IRS officer, was serving as the Head of Binance Financial Crime Compliance, when he was invited to Nigeria by the government officials for a meeting. Shortly after arriving in Nigeria, Tigran was arrested in February 2024 and charged with money laundering by the officials.
Since then, Tigran has been lodged in a jail in Nigeria for the past 264 days despite his health deteriorating and international pressure on Nigerian government to release him. Recently, a video of Tigran limping his way to court and yelling, “This is so fu**ed up” went viral on social media.
With the Nigerian government dropping all charges against Tigran, speculations are high that he might be home before the US elections commences on November 5.
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