Binance CEO Richard Teng joined a chorus of condemnation after a video surfaced online that showed Nigerian officials refusing to aid a hobbled Tigran Gambaryan in a courthouse on Monday.
“This inhumane treatment for Tigran must end,” Teng wrote on X on Tuesday. “He must be allowed to go home for medical treatment and to be with his family.”
This inhumane treatment of Tigran must end. He must be allowed to go home for medical treatment and to be with his family. https://t.co/HsQNoyE0cS
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) September 3, 2024
DL News reported on Monday that Gambaryan, a US-based compliance manager at Binance suffering from a herniated disc on his back, was denied the use of a wheelchair in court.
The video showed an officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service urging a struggling Gambaryan to make his way down a corridor on one crutch despite his pleas for help.
“This is fucked up,” Gambaryan said repeatedly. “Why can’t I use the wheelchair, I can’t fucking walk,”
The correctional officer replied, “Manage yourself, let’s go.”
“Don’t hold me,” the officer added, brushing aside Gambaryan’s hand. “You can walk, let’s go.”
Plea for wheelchair
Gambaryan, 40, was appearing in court as his $35 million money laundering trial resumed after a long summer break. He has denied the charges and his lawyer has decried Nigeria’s prosecution as “state-sanctioned hostage taking.”
After the session started on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite agreed to Gambaryan’s plea for a wheelchair.
The drama was the latest round in Gambaryan’s long-running case in Nigeria.
The Binance executive has been caught up in the middle of a legal fight between Nigeria’s government and Binance, the world’s top crypto exchange.
The African nation has charged both parties with currency speculation and money laundering amounting to $35 million, which Binance has denied.
Worsening health
Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since February 26 and has spent four months incarcerated in Kuje prison pending the trial’s outcome.
His health has visibly worsened during the prolonged detention as attested to independently by his family, legal team, US Embassy officials, and visiting US lawmakers.
The Binance executive previously suffered malaria and pneumonia in jail and was not adequately treated.
Still, Nigerian authorities say he is in good health.
“He has been acting up and putting on a show but I can confirm that he is very okay,” an official who spoke to DL News anonymously said.
However, prison authorities have ignored court orders to produce Gambaryan’s medical reports.
A spokesperson for the Gambaryan family said Nigerian prison officials were being disingenuous.
“Tigran is unequivocally sick and suffering,” the spokesperson said. “We know that Tigran is in terrible health and is suffering a lot.”
Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. To share tips or information about stories, please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.