US Lawmaker Urges Nigeria to Release Binance Executive

Washington should declare Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Vice President of Global Intelligence and Investigations, who is detained in Nigeria, as a hostage if his case remains unresolved by mid-July. This is stated in a resolution by US Representative Rich McCormick.

He believes the actions of Nigerian authorities are unlawful. He urged the US government to take steps to secure Gambaryan’s release and provide him with medical assistance if the legal proceedings against him are not concluded by mid-July.

The resolution was also supported by Representative French Hill, who visited the Binance executive in prison. He reported that Gambaryan is suffering from malaria and bilateral pneumonia and is not receiving adequate medical care.

Previously, US Congress members and a group of former American officials called on President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to assist in bringing the American citizen back home.

Gambaryan and Binance’s Director for West and East Africa, Nadim Anjarwalla, were detained after a meeting with Nigerian authorities in February. Along with Binance Holdings Limited, they were accused of tax evasion and money laundering. The company and its executives deny the charges.

At the end of March, Anjarwalla secretly flew from Nigeria to Kenya. However, authorities tracked him down there and arranged for his extradition.

In June, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service dropped the tax evasion charges against the executives. However, they remain implicated in the money laundering case.

Earlier, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olubukola Akinwumi, testified for the prosecution, labeling Binance’s activities in the country as illegal.