In a recent development, a group of U.S. lawmakers, led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul and supported by 11 other congressional leaders, have called on President Joe Biden to intervene in the detention of Tigran Gambaryan, a high-ranking executive at Binance. The lawmakers are demanding that the situation be treated as a hostage crisis and immediate action be taken to secure Gambaryan’s release.
The appeal comes after Gambaryan has been held by Nigerian authorities for nearly three months. His health has significantly deteriorated during his detention, with reports of him collapsing in court and testing positive for malaria. Despite a judge’s order for proper medical treatment, the Nigerian authorities have failed to provide adequate healthcare, raising concerns about his well-being.
The lawmakers assert that the charges against Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer, Binance. They argue that his detention qualifies as a wrongful detainment under the “Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.” It is clear that Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, is being wrongfully detained, and urgent intervention is necessary.
Gambaryan’s family has also expressed concern for his well-being and emphasized the need for U.S. intervention. Meanwhile, another Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who was also detained, managed to escape. The letter from the lawmakers sheds light on Gambaryan’s trip to Nigeria, which initially started as high-level discussions regarding Binance’s compliance issues but turned hostile, leading to his detainment by Nigerian authorities.
Armed guards confined Gambaryan to his hotel room, seized his passport, and transferred him to a government-owned residence known as the “Guest House.” He was held without the ability to contact his family, attorneys, or U.S. officials for five days. Despite the initial court order expiring, Nigerian authorities continued to hold him without a legal basis, eventually charging him with crimes as a surrogate for Binance. Gambaryan was then transferred to Kuje Prison, known for its harsh conditions.
Gambaryan, a former IRS special agent who played a significant role in cyber investigations resulting in the seizure of billions of dollars in illicit funds, now finds himself in a dire situation. The urgent call for U.S. intervention is not only about securing his release but also about upholding justice and ensuring that baseless charges and coercion tactics are not used against individuals. The plight of Tigran Gambaryan highlights the need for immediate action and the protection of human rights on an international level.
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