Binance Executive Allegedly Plotted Prison Escape, Applied For New U.S. Passport

• Detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan attempted to escape from Kuje Correctional Facility

• Gambaryan applied for a new U.S. passport, claiming his seized passport was missing

• EFCC urges court to deny Gambaryan’s bail application, citing flight risk

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has uncovered an alleged plot by detained Binance Holdings Limited executive, Tigran Gambaryan, to escape from Kuje Correctional Facility.

Investigations revealed that Gambaryan, who is currently remanded in Kuje, applied for a new United States passport, under the pretense that his seized passport was missing.

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The Armenian-born Binance executive, who holds both American and Armenian passports, told the U.S. Embassy in Abuja that he lost his passport, which is currently being held by the EFCC.

Following this development, the EFCC has urged the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to disregard Gambaryan’s bail application, noting that the Armenian-American could flee from Nigeria like his Kenyan-British colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who fled to Kenya.

A source privy to the investigations revealed that “Gambaryan could have escaped from Kuje if not for the fact that the U.S. embassy flagged his request for a new passport.”

The source added that the U.S. embassy immediately reached out to the EFFC and was informed that Gambaryan is a criminal suspect whose case is currently in court for alleged money laundering.

Meanwhile, the EFCC had on Tuesday urged Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja to deny Gambaryan’s bail application, citing the risk of him fleeing the country.

The anti-graft agency said it was too risky to admit the foreigner to bail, noting the escape of his co-defendant, Nadeem Anjarwalla, from the custody of the National Security Adviser and his subsequent escape to Kenya.

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The EFCC prosecutor, Ekele Iheanacho, told the court that the agency uncovered an alleged plot by Gambaryan to obtain a new passport to facilitate his escape from Nigeria after the EFCC had seized his passport.

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