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07/06/24
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Former Federal Prosecutors and Agents Ask U.S. Authorities to Ensure Release of Binance Executive in Nigeria
On June 6, several former federal prosecutors and federal agents sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urgently requesting that the State Department do more to ensure that Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan is released from detention in Nigeria.
“The U.S. government’s efforts to date have been wholly lacking, and the consequences of further inaction are potentially dire. In short, a former U.S. federal agent has been effectively held hostage in deplorable conditions for nearly three months by a foreign power in an apparent attempt to compel his employer to settle a matter that does not implicate him,” reads the letter.
The former federal prosecutors and federal agents explained Gambaryan’s exploits in ensuring that the rule of law prevailed in the past. “Several of us worked alongside Tigran during these cases and saw his tireless devotion to the rule of law firsthand.”
The letter expressed his innocence, noting that his role at Binance did not make him an appropriate stand-in for the crypto exchange. Hence, they asked the authorities to use U.S. diplomacy’s full power to secure his immediate release.
Similarly, on June 4, several members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to President Joe Biden, Secretary U.S. Department of State, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs asking them to bring Gambaryan home. They called on the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs to specifically intervene, as the charges against Gambaryan are “baseless”.
He slumped in court last month and was discovered to have contracted malaria. Nigerian authorities did not follow a court order to send him to a private hospital for treatment.
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