US Lawmaker Urges Congress To Treat Binance Executive Detained In Nigeria As A Hostage

Updated: 12 July 2024

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A US lawmaker has urged Congress to declare a Binance executive detained in Nigeria as a ”hostage” if his criminal case in the country is not resolved by mid-July.

Representative Rich McCormick said in a July 10 resolution to Congress that the Nigerian government had wrongfully detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan in order to extort the crypto exchange.

“If Tigran’s case is not resolved by mid-July, he may remain in detention for an even longer undue period of time” because the court typically takes a recess from mid-July until September, said Rep. McCormick.

Over 100 Federal Agents And Prosecutors Call For Binance Executive’s Release

Rep. McCormick submitted the resolution on behalf of himself and Rep. French Hill, who went to see Gambaryan in prison on June 20.

This recent call for action follows similar responses from more than 100 federal agents and prosecutors. All of them have asked the State Department to secure the Binance executive’s release.

Thanks to @RepMcCormick and @RepFrenchHill for introducing H. Res. 1348 Urging the Government of Nigeria to immediately release @TigranGambaryan from imprisonment. https://t.co/zOlW0H66uW

— Noah Perlman (@NoahBPerlman) July 11, 2024

The debacle started in February when authorities charged Gambaryan and colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla with money laundering and tax evasion when the two traveled to Nigeria on behalf of Binance.

Although Nigeria’s tax authority dropped its tax evasion charges in June, the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission’s money laundering case is still ongoing.

Anjarwalla managed to escape custody and fled to Kenya. However, he is expected to be extradited to Nigeria.

Petition To Free Tigran Gambaryan Has Almost 5,000 Signatures

Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki, has launched a petition to let her husband return to the US. It has received 4,983 signatures as of 4:05 a.m. EST.

In the petition, she said that Gambaryan traveled with “just a small bag” since he was only “supposed to be there for 48 hours” after arriving in Abuja, Nigeria on Feb. 25.

“Now, multiple weeks later, the Nigerian authorities continue to refuse to allow him to leave the country as they work-up bogus charges, and the conditions of his detention have worsened significantly,” she wrote in the petition.