United States House Representatives French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan have jointly called for the release of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, currently held in Nigeria on charges of tax evasion and other financial crimes.
Following their visit to Gambaryan at Kuje prison on Wednesday, the lawmakers expressed concerns about his deteriorating health condition. They reported that Gambaryan is afflicted with malaria and double pneumonia, has experienced substantial weight loss, and claimed he is not receiving adequate medical care.
Hill detailed their visit in a statement on X, saying, “Yesterday, and I visited with US citizen Tigran Gambaryan in Kuje Prison in Nigeria. We found him suffering from the conditions there, as he has malaria and double pneumonia, and he reports that he has lost significant weight.”
“Even worse, he’s being denied access to adequate medical attention. Although I am pleased that Nigeria dropped tax evasion charges against Tigran on 6/14, it’s my view that he’s being wrongfully detained on charges related to money laundering.”
He further stated, “Tigran has devoted his professional life to fighting money laundering and tax evasion, having spent ten years as an IRS Special Agent where he successfully led cyber and financial crime investigations.
“Further, at the time of his arrest, he was working as a contract employee at Binance and was instrumental in criminal investigations and compliance in cooperation with Nigerian authorities.
“On 6/4, I joined a letter with@RepMcCormick and 16 other colleagues to @POTUS, @SecBlinken, and @StateSPEHA urging for Tigran’s immediate release. Two days later, over 100 former federal prosecutors and agents wrote to @SecBlinken further urging @StateDept to use all means available to secure his release.
“Tigran must be immediately granted a humanitarian release, the remaining charges dropped, and he must return home to America where he belongs.”
Recall that on February 28, 2024, Nigerian officials detained two high-ranking executives from Binance, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange.
Among those detained were Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British Kenyan serving as the regional manager for Africa, and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American responsible for financial crime compliance at Binance.
Their visit to Nigeria coincided with the government’s recent crackdown on several cryptocurrency trading platforms.
In response to the detention of its executives, Binance decided to cease trading the Nigerian naira against popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and tether on its exchange platform.
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