Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance, stated that the company is making efforts to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan, Binance's head of financial crime compliance, who has been detained by the Nigerian government since February 26. Teng shared this information during a June 17 episode of the Bankless podcast.
"He continues to be detained despite our best efforts to get him free," said Teng. "We want to make sure that he's back home safely with his wife and family, and this obviously is a very distressing time for everybody. As I said very clearly in my blog, Tigran is a true professional of the highest integrity, and his passion is in fighting financial crime, so it's ironic. He went to Nigeria as an expert, not as a negotiator, not as a management person that makes the decisions."
According to Teng, Binance is "very committed" to bringing Gambaryan home and has been working closely with the Nigerian government. He said U.S. policymakers have indicated that Gambaryan is being detained unnecessarily.
Sixteen members of Congress wrote a letter on June 4 calling on President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens to classify Gambaryan as a "U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government" and escalate his case to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Lawmakers who signed the letter include Rep. Rich McCormick, whose district encompasses Gambaryan's hometown of Suwanee, Georgia, and Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They said Gambaryan is now suffering from malaria and isn't receiving adequate medical treatment and his detention "has been marked by excessive and harsh treatment." "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, Binance," the lawmakers said.
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week, McCormick described Gambaryan's treatment as "appalling" and said the medical treatment he has received for malaria has been "less than adequate," according to a video of the hearing. McCormick said he believes Gambaryan meets the criteria of a "U.S. citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government" and asked whether his case would be escalated to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Carstens did not provide an answer, but Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter said they have requested "humanitarian release" and are monitoring the situation.
Teng stated in a post on Binance's website that before joining Binance, Gambaryan served for ten years as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to Teng, Gambaryan "devoted his professional life to fighting financial crimes." After joining Binance, Gambaryan continued that work by meeting with law enforcement and government agencies around the world to enhance compliance and address financial crime. When he traveled to Nigeria in February, he had been assured multiple times that he would be safe; instead, he was arrested.
Teng joined Binance in August 2021. He previously served as CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and director of corporate finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He became CEO of Binance in November 2023.