On Wednesday, the federal government dropped all money laundering allegations against Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance Holdings executive.
At the Federal High Court in Abuja, a lawyer representing the prosecutor, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), announced the dismissal of the charges.
The lawyer said that Mr Gambaryan, a US citizen, was simply an employee of Binance, for which he was being charged.
Gambaryan’s counsel, Mark Mordi (SAN), concurred with the prosecution, claiming that his client had no involvement in the company’s overall financial decisions.
Gambaryan was denied bail twice because Justice Emeka Nwite believed he was a flight risk.
The withdrawal of the charges is believed to be the result of months of diplomatic lobbying between Nigerian and US government figures.
Gambaryan was absent in court on October 18, the day his trial continued. Concerns about his health led to his absence.
The Binance executive has been held at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja since his arraignment in April.
He is standing trial alongside Binance, a cryptocurrency company, on five counts of money laundering and currency speculation involving as much as $34.4 million.
Binance is facing tax evasion charges in a separate case before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court’s decision came two months after Gambaryan’s colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla reportedly escaped from pre-trial custody in Abuja in March.
