Good day everybody,
Welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. In this post I will be looking at the continue holding of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria and how U.S. lawmakers are fearful for his life.
Tigran Gambaryan
A group of twelve United States lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to put all effort into bringing Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive who has been detained in Nigeria, back to the United States safely. Gambaryan has been held in Nigeria for almost three months, and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, along with 11 others have sent a letter to Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens.
https://x.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1798115865390428422
Within the letter, as shown in the 'X' post above by @EleanorTerrett, they are looking for President Biden to treat Gambaryan's case as a hostage situation. Gambaryan is a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of compliance, and he has been held in Nigeria on charges of money laundering and tax evasion within the nation. They have called for the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs’ involvement in Gambaryan’s case with fears over his overall health and condition. They noted:
“We fear for his life. Immediate action is essential to ensure his safety and preserve his life. We must act swiftly before it is too late.”
Gambaryan was detained along with another company executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, following an invite to the nation in an attempt to resolve an ongoing dispute with the cryptocurrency exchange. Anjarwalla managed to escape but was apprehended again nearly 3,000 miles away in Kenya, while Gambaryan is still being held in Nigeria. His family have noted that he may be ill and have malaria following Gambaryan collapsing in a Nigerian court on the 24th of May 2024.
The letter was addressed to Biden, Secretary Antony Blinken, and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and sent on the 4th of June 2024. Within they emphasised that Gambaryan is being held unjustly and treated poorly while in detention. According to the letter Gambaryan is not allowed to meet with his lawyers privately as Nigerian officials and armed guards are consistently present. They also highlighted that the allegations against him are “baseless” and represent a coercive tactic to pressure Binance.
Gambaryan was refused bail on the 18th of May and failed to attend a court hearing on the 22nd of May, which led to uncertainty about his whereabouts. When Gambaryan did manage to appear in court the following day his medical state had clearly deteriorated, and on the 24th of May he collapsed. This happened when he failed to approach the stand when called. While his lawyer did help Gambaryan up from the back row, he eportedly collapsed midway and needed to be seated in the front. His lawyer filed a written application informing the court of his declining health after the incident took place at the Federal High Court in Abuja when the proceedings were set to resume under Justice Emeka Nwite.
According to the letter Gambaryan’s health has been declining since February but his condition became critical the day before the hearing. This required hospitalisation for malaria with intravenous treatment. A court order mandated private hospital care although he is yet to receive it. Due to fears for his life, the politicians have called for immediate action to guarantee his safety and prevent a potential tragic outcome.
A dangerous precedent has been set in this case following the invite of the Binance executives to the African country. With their detention coming in such a shady and, in my opinion, unethical manner, its came after the executives first held meetings with Nigerian authorities in the country in January of this year. The authorities of Nigeria noted that the issues involving Binance were of national security level and at the time they demanded the exchange delist the naira currency from its platform and provide "granular-level" details on all Nigerian users.
Binance CEO, Richard Teng, noted back in early May:
"To invite a company's mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide."
He also noted that Gambaryan was being held "for spurious reasons." Back in March Binance announced they were ceasing all transactions and trading in Naira, the native currency of Nigeria, but it did not lead to the release of Gambaryan while Binance and Nigerian authorities resolved any further issues. Teng noted:
"Our hope when we took this drastic step was that our colleagues would be released and Binance could continue to work with the Nigerian government to resolve any further concerns. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We will continue engagement with Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on resolving potential historic tax liabilities."
Have a great day.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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