The Nigerian government on Wednesday dropped money laundering charges against cryptocurrency firm Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, the state-run news agency reported.
The US citizen and head of financial crime compliance at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platform has been detained since February, accused along with the company of laundering around $35 million.
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He and Binance denied the charges, which a lawyer for the government’s anti-graft agency said were being withdrawn because of Gambaryan’s deteriorating health, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
Authorities in Africa’s leading economy have imposed restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges as part of attempts to halt the sliding value of its naira currency.
In March, as the Nigerian government placed crypto-businesses under increasing scrutiny, Binance said it was halting operations in the currency.
Separate charges against Binance, which the company denies, are still being pursued in court and a trial has been adjourned until next month.
Binance and the EFCC anti-graft agency so far have not responded to an AFP request for comment.
Binance was created in 2017 and cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning its founder Changpeng Zhao, who resigned late last year, into a billionaire.
The Canadian national was sentenced to four months in US prison in April after pleading guilty to money laundering charges in a high-profile crypto case.
According to investigations by two Treasury agencies, Binance had failed to prevent transactions by movements such as the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda or the armed wing of Hamas.
AFP