Court rejects Binance executive’s bail plea — second time in five months

A federal high court in Abuja has refused to grant bail to Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited.

In a ruling on Friday, Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, held that the application constitutes an abuse of court process, considering that the defendant has entered an appeal against a previous court ruling on the same issue.

Nwite held that the fact that a defendant in custody is of ill health does not automatically mean he is entitled to bail.

He held that the defendant had failed to show evidence that the Correctional Service facility could not attend to his medical needs or take him to a specialist for further medical attention.

“This application is bound to fail,” Nwite said.

The judge ordered the prison authorities to take Gambaryan to a standard specialist hospital within Abuja, for a period of three days, under security supervision.

BACKGROUND

In April, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, and Gambaryan, on allegations of money laundering.

On May 17, the court refused Gambaryan’s first bail request. The Binance executive later collapsed in court due to “ill-health”.

Gambaryan’s legal team and his family have raised the alarm that he could die in the Kuje prison if his health continues to deteriorate.

His wife, Yuki, said Gambaryan’s health was getting worse, adding that he needed “highly specialised and risky surgery” to treat the herniated disc in his back.

Gambaryan’s health had led Nwite to issue an arrest warrant against Abraham Ehizojie, a medical doctor at the health facility in Kuje correctional centre, over his failure to produce the executive’s medical report.

On September 2, the EFCC objected to the health claims made by the Binance executive after Iheanacho filed a counter affidavit to the bail application.

Mordi had informed the court of another bail application — which was filed on August 28 — seeking his client’s release on medical grounds.

However, the prosecution filed a counter affidavit opposing the bail application.

Ekele Iheanacho, EFCC counsel, said he has perused the defendant’s medical records and his health challenge “is not as serious” as it has been portrayed.