Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja was informed by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC that the bail application of Tigran Gambaryan, detained executive of Binance Holdings Limited, should be rejected.
EFCC stated that granting bail to Gambaryan could result in his escape.
During the proceedings, EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Emeka Iheanacho, mentioned the escape of Gambaryan’s co-defendant, Nadeem Anjarwalla, from the custody of the National Security Adviser, who is currently in Kenya.
The agency emphasized the perceived risk associated with granting Gambaryan bail.
Iheanacho informed the court about EFCC’s discovery of an alleged plan by Gambaryan to obtain a new passport for potential escape, despite his original passport being seized by EFCC.
“The risk of granting bail to the defendant is significant, especially considering his attempts to secure another travel document while his passport is under state custody. He falsely claimed the original passport was stolen.
“Considering his lack of ties to any local community in Nigeria, providing bail to him would pose a grave risk. We have witnessed a similar incident where an individual escaped to Kenya with a Nigerian-held passport. Furthermore, Binance is operating remotely, making this defendant pivotal in our case. Therefore, we urge the court to deny bail to the defendant,” he argued.
Meanwhile, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi (SAN), labeled his client’s continued detention as a form of state-sanctioned hostage situation, alleging that EFCC is using him as leverage to gain information from his employer.
EFCC is currently prosecuting Gambaryan, his absconding associate Anjarwalla, and Binance Holdings Limited on charges related to money laundering.
The anti-corruption agency accused them of obscuring the origin of $35.4 million revenue generated by Binance in Nigeria, alleging that the funds were derived from illicit activities.