Two members of the United States (US) Congress have visited Nigeria to see the Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan who has been detained at the Kuje correctional center in Abuja over case of money laundering. The US members are French Hill a Republican and Chrissy Houlahan a Democrat, who stated that Tigran is suffering from malaria and double pneumonia, revealing he has been denied access to adequate medical attention as he has lost weight. Announcing this on X Account, Hill stated, "Yesterday, @RepHoulahan 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.“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, 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.”
Representative Houlahan said, “We did find pretty difficult conditions… he was under clearly a lot of stress and his health is not very good.” She continued that she hopes “we will be able to put the full force of America behind us to make sure that he is returned home safely.”
Recall, that Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwall were arrested in February and charged with criminal violations by the Nigerian government. Gambaryan is awaiting trial, while Anjarwall escaped custody and was extradited from Kenya to Nigeria.
The two individuals went to Nigeria to discuss regulatory issues on behalf of Binance and the government’s recent crackdown on cryptocurrency trading platforms with officials. They were arrested and held by the government without their passports following the negotiations.
Binance has been trying to convince Nigerian authorities that Gambaryan does not have decision-making authority in the company. They have argued that he should not be required to appear in court for any charges and should be released.