The U.S. government is intensifying its efforts to secure the release of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, a former U.S. law enforcement officer who has been imprisoned in Nigeria since February 2024.
Gambaryan, who was in Nigeria for meetings related to Binance’s operations, faces severe health issues and is reportedly receiving inadequate medical care.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has raised the matter with Nigerian authorities, with support from U.S. Ambassador Richard M. Mills Jr., who has engaged Nigeria’s president, finance minister, and other top officials.
The diplomatic push follows previous interventions from U.S. lawmakers, including a June letter from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and others, urging President Biden to declare Gambaryan “wrongfully detained.”
Gambaryan, 40, has protested his treatment in a recently circulated video, raising concerns about his deteriorating health.
Nigerian authorities have charged him and Binance with tax evasion and money laundering, alleging that the cryptocurrency giant caused economic harm by facilitating fund transfers that undermined the naira.
However, the tax charges against Gambaryan have since been dropped.
