The wife of Tigran Gambaryan, an arrested Binance executive in Nigeria, has called on the US State Department to assist in his release. Yuki Gambaryan made her appeal on the Designated podcast.
According to Yuki Gambaryan, Tigran’s health is rapidly deteriorating. He requires a tonsillectomy due to persistent respiratory infections and is unable to walk because of a herniated disc.
She believes the US government is her only hope to bring her husband home.
“I want the State Department to officially declare Tigran unlawfully detained as soon as possible. I believe they have the means, power, and leverage to solve such problems, which gives me a little hope,” she said on the podcast.
Yuki Gambaryan added that their children, aged ten and five, constantly ask about their father.
On September 26, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution demanding Nigerian authorities release the Binance executive from wrongful detention and provide him with “unrestricted medical care.” It also calls for the use of “all available assets” of the US State Department to resolve the situation.
Previous appeals to the Nigerian government have been ignored.
“The State Department is fully engaged in Gambaryan’s case, and they are weighing the facts according to their procedure. But regardless of how this process ends, we must continue to pressure the Nigerian government,” said Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks.
The resolution will be reconsidered by the US House of Representatives after the presidential elections in November.
Gambaryan and the director of the exchange in West and East Africa, Nadim Anjarwalla, were detained following a meeting with Nigerian authorities in February. Along with Binance Holdings Limited, they were accused of tax evasion and money laundering. The company and executives deny the charges.
In late March, Anjarwalla secretly flew from Nigeria to Kenya. However, authorities tracked him down there and arranged for extradition.
In June, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service dropped tax evasion charges against the executives. However, they remain involved in the money laundering case.
US Representatives French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan, who visited Gambaryan in prison, stated that he is not receiving adequate medical care. Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, refuted their claims.
In late August, Binance CEO Richard Teng reported a rapid decline in the physical and mental health of the executive.