The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has sent a letter to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, urging the United States to exert its utmost effort in securing the release of Tigran Gambaryan. Gambaryan, who serves as a compliance officer for Binance, has been detained in Nigeria for nearly three months.
The NWC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and rewarding whistleblowers, issued a press release late last month. The release disclosed that the letter was addressed to Chris W. Marsh, the division chief of the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Office of Overseas Citizens Services.
According to the NWC's press release, Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, was detained by Nigerian authorities on Feb. 25, 2024. He was in Nigeria to meet with officials regarding his role as head of financial crime compliance for Binance. Despite Gambaryan not holding a decision-making role within Binance and his cooperation with the investigation, he was arrested on charges related to alleged illegal activities conducted by Binance.
Stephen M. Kohn, chairman of NWC wrote in the letter: "Releasing Mr. Gambaryan is especially important given the serious crimes committed by Binance and the absolute necessity of obtaining cooperation from insiders such as Mr. Gambaryan to hold such companies as Binance responsible." Kohn emphasized that insider cooperation like that offered by Gambaryan is recognized in the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption as 'a core national security interest of the United States,' particularly within industries like cryptocurrency where illegal conduct is largely committed overseas and more difficult to detect.
The press release further clarified that while Gambaryan is not a whistleblower himself, NWC chose to support him because his detention strikes at the heart of their mission—to protect and support whistleblowers. The organization opposes punishing employees who are not decision-makers but cooperate with authorities.
Siri Nelson, executive director of NWC, stated in the press release: "Whistleblower protections are a human right. NWC fights for whistleblowers worldwide and understands that global protections for whistleblowers are critical to U.S. security issues and economic stability." Nelson added that their recognition of the U.S. Strategy to Countering Corruption motivated their request for Gambaryan's release. She urged the U.S. government to uphold its commitment to combating corruption by intervening when whistleblowers are detained or retaliated against—especially in instances where they have assisted in successful investigations that disrupted massive transnational frauds like those orchestrated by Binance.