Sixteen members of Congress have called on President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens to intervene in the case of Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance employee and former U.S. federal agent currently detained in Nigeria. The lawmakers issued their statement in a June 4 letter posted on X by Eleanor Terrett.
According to the letter, Nigerian government officials invited Gambaryan to Abuja for policy discussions but detained him on February 26. Gambaryan has since tested positive for malaria and is not receiving adequate medical treatment despite a court order for his transfer from prison to a hospital. The lawmakers stated that Gambaryan was initially detained without charge and held for weeks without legal basis. They added that the Nigerian government has now charged him with crimes "as an effigy of his employer."
"It is crucial to emphasize that the charges against Mr. Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer," they said in the letter. He was moved from detention in a "guest house" to Kuje Prison, which is known for its harsh conditions.
The lawmakers described Gambaryan's detention as marked by "excessive and harsh treatment." They asserted that he qualifies as a "U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government" under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act and requested his case be transferred to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. They expressed concern over his deteriorating health, stating, "Immediate action is essential to ensure his safety and preserve his life. We must act swiftly before it is too late."
Gambaryan's wife, Yuki, expressed frustration over the delayed response from U.S. officials. "I am shocked at how long it took for us to get to this point," she said, according to DL News. "It feels like the U.S. government just got to the starting line now, which should have happened a long time ago." She highlighted her husband's decade-long service with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), during which he was involved in high-profile investigations.
Yuki noted that since Gambaryan's transfer from the guest house to Kuje Prison on March 22, she has only spoken with him twice, each conversation lasting about two minutes. She also mentioned that Gambaryan's mother is "inconsolable," while she herself has been shielding their young children from details of their father's situation.
For ten years, Gambaryan served as a U.S. federal agent investigating cases related to national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations. Binance hired him in 2021 to address historical compliance issues; his team assisted law enforcement agencies globally in freezing and seizing over $2.2 billion worth of assets in 2022 and 2023.