Nigeria's prosecutors will continue to review the case brought by the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Tigran Gambarian, the Binance executive detained since February.
A family spokesman said Gambarian's legal team began and completed cross-examining the EFCC witness on July 2. The government agency brought money laundering charges against Gambarian and Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped custody in March and reportedly fled to Kenya.
Nigerian officials plan to resume Gambaryan's trial on July 5. However, his family says his health has been deteriorating in the 128 days since authorities detained him and Anjarwalla.
According to the spokesman, Gambaryan suffered from double pneumonia and malaria and reported pain in his legs and back.
Gambarian's wife, Yuki, said she had not been in contact with anyone from the Nigerian government, but had spoken with officials at the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Abuja. She said she regularly called Binance employees and lawyers representing her husband in the EFCC case.
Nigerian authorities initially charged Gambaryan and Anjarwalla with tax evasion and money laundering in February after they entered the country as representatives of Binance.
Anjarwalla fled to Kenya in March and is reportedly facing extradition back to Nigeria. In June, the Federal Tax Service of Nigeria dropped the tax evasion charges, but at the time of publication the money laundering case was ongoing.
Many U.S. officials and people interested in the case have criticized Nigerian authorities for prosecuting two executives who voluntarily traveled to the country for the company's alleged actions. Politicians called on Biden to rescue the Binance executive. On June 20, US representatives French Hill and Chrissie Houlahan met with Gambarian at Kuje Prison in Nigeria, calling on authorities to drop the charges against him and immediately release him on humanitarian grounds.
