For eight months, in a bizarre twist of fate, the detective who pioneered cryptocurrency tracking as a law enforcement technique has been jailed in Nigeria on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. Now he might finally be coming home.
On Wednesday, an Abuja court ruled that criminal charges against Gambaryan, a Binance executive who previously served a decade as an IRS investigator, will be dropped on medical grounds as pressure has increased from the US government for Gambaryan's release to secure.
Gambaryan was detained in February and later jailed after being invited to the country by Nigerian officials to discuss a dispute between the Nigerian government and Binance over its history of money laundering and the exchange's alleged role in devaluing the Nigerian national currency. Since then, he has been held in Kuje Prison where, according to his family and lawyers, he is suffering acutely from a herniated disc in his spine that requires immediate surgery.
Despite the Nigerian court's decision to drop charges against Gambaryan, first reported by Bloomberg News, Gambaryan is still in Nigeria and was sent back to prison after the ruling, according to Patrick Hillman, a former Binance executive and colleague of Gambaryan who was involved in the lobbying effort to free him. “We're all waiting right now to hear that he's on the plane, in the air and on his way home,” Hillman said. “Until we verify that, we're all just holding the collars of our shirts and waiting to see if there are any other hiccups.”
A spokesperson for Gambaryan's family declined to comment and Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Reuters, the country's criminal case against Binance will continue despite Gambaryan's release.
International pressure on Nigeria has steadily increased to release Gambaryan, whose health has visibly deteriorated during his time in prison. In July he attended a court hearing in a wheelchair. In September, a video showed him limping into the courtroom on one crutch and unsuccessfully pleading for help from a Nigerian guard.
Meanwhile, sixteen members of Congress signed a letter to the White House calling for Gambaryan's case to be treated as a hostage situation. A resolution from the House Foreign Affairs Committee called on the US to push for his release. Recently, a group of attorneys general similarly called on the White House to exert the necessary influence to free Gambaryan.
