Tigran Gambaryan, the head of financial crime compliance at Binance Holdings Ltd., has been held in Nigeria for more than six months. A Nigerian court has postponed ruling on his bail plea.
TakeAway Points:
- Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive who has been jailed since February on suspicion of money laundering and currency manipulation, has had his bail hearing postponed by a Nigerian court.
- The attorney for Gambaryan notes that the Nigerian prison system does not address his client’s urgent medical needs; the state prosecutor asserts that proper care is given.
- US lawmakers demand President Biden’s action to secure Gambaryan’s release, accusing Nigeria of unlawful incarceration.
- Uniswap Labs was penalised $175,000 by the CFTC for breaking the Commodity Exchange Act for offering leveraged retail cryptocurrency trading without authorisation.
Court shifts bail decision
Gambaryan, a US citizen, sought bail due to his deteriorating health, which he claims cannot be adequately treated within the Nigerian penal system. His lawyer, Mark Mordi, emphasized that Gambaryan has needed surgery since July 18 and requires urgent medical assistance. However, State Prosecutor Ekele Iheanacho argued that Gambaryan has received adequate treatment at both the prison hospital and another facility in Abuja.
Health Challenges and Legal Arguments
Gambaryan has been held since February and was sent to prison in April on charges including currency manipulation and money laundering by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). His legal team has filed a new motion for bail, citing his declining health as a critical reason for his release. Despite the EFCC’s opposition, they submitted Gambaryan’s health records to the court, which indicate that he requires surgery. A recently surfaced video has intensified calls for his release, showing Gambaryan struggling to walk and repeatedly asking a guard for a wheelchair, which was ignored. Binance CEO Richard Teng described the treatment as “inhumane” and demanded his immediate release.
Allegations and Diplomatic Tensions
The case has drawn significant attention, not just for its legal implications but also for the diplomatic tensions it has sparked. In May, Binance claimed it was asked for a “secret” payment of $150 million in cryptocurrency to resolve its issues in Nigeria, an allegation that Nigerian authorities have denied. This claim has added another layer of complexity to the already tense situation. Senior Republican lawmakers in the US have accused Nigeria of taking Gambaryan hostage and have urged President Joe Biden to intervene to secure his release.
CFTC charges Uniswap Labs
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has imposed a $175,000 fine on Uniswap Labs, also known as Universal Navigation Inc., for allegedly offering illegal leveraged retail trading in digital assets. The decentralized crypto exchange has been ordered to cease and desist from violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) as part of the settlement. Uniswap Labs, which operates a decentralized protocol allowing users to trade digital assets directly without intermediaries, was found to have offered leveraged tokens that did not meet regulatory requirements.
Allegations against Uniswap Labs
The CFTC’s allegations center on Uniswap Labs’ offering of leveraged or margined commodity transactions that did not result in actual delivery within 28 days. According to the CFTC, such transactions can only be offered on a board of trade designated or registered by the CFTC as a contract market, which Uniswap Labs was not. The CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, Ian McGinley, emphasized the agency’s commitment to enforcing existing laws within the evolving digital asset and DeFi markets.
“Platforms must comply with the regulations that govern retail commodity transactions,” McGinley stated.
