The Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has accused the Nigerian Correctional Service of failing to bring detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan to the Federal High Court in Abuja for a hearing on tax evasion charges. Gambaryan was scheduled to appear in court on May 22 for arraignment on tax evasion allegations brought by the FIRS, but he did not show up.

In March 2024, Binance and its executives were charged with four counts of tax evasion each by the tax authority. After entering a not guilty plea to money laundering allegations filed by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission and seeking bail in April, Gambaryan was transferred to Abuja's Kuje Correctional Centre. The Binance executive was denied bail and is still in custody.

During the court session on Wednesday, prosecution counsel Moses Idehu expressed his perplexity at Gambaryan's absence and mentioned several fruitless attempts to contact the correctional facility. He also asked for a brief delay in the case to handle the situation later that day. In the meantime, Gambaryan's attorney, Chukwuka Ikwuazo, requested that the judge instruct FIRS to remove the name of another detained Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, from the new accusations because he has been declared "at large". The FIRS attorney also consented to remove Anjarwalla's name from the accusations.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were detained during a public inquiry and were accused of contributing to Nigeria's economic woes and funding terrorism. After their passports were taken, the two were moved to a safe location. While requesting Gambaryan's release, the head of Binance's Financial Crime Compliance team, Richard Teng, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange, stated that the Nigerian authorities' actions have established a "dangerous" new standard for businesses worldwide. Teng further stated that Gambaryan's trip to Nigeria was not for decision-making or negotiations, but rather to offer financial crime expertise, take part in policy discussions and build capacity. Despite the Nigerian authorities' repeated assurances of safe passage, the arrests were nevertheless made.

Gambaryan was later imprisoned at Nigeria's Kuje prison, which gained notoriety after an Islamic State attack in July 2022 as part of a jailbreak. It has also housed a number of well-known inmates, including Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the central bank.