Two Congress members have gone viral with their report on X of “horrible” conditions in a Nigerian prison where former IRS agent Tigran Gambaryan is being held despite U.S. requests for a humanitarian release.
Amid concerns over Gambaryan’s deteriorating health, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), carved out time from a recent national security matter in Nigeria to visit the American citizen and executive for global cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. Hill and Houlahan used the opportunity to advocate for Gambaryan during a mission to help Nigeria and other countries fight counterterrorism groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
According to their reports, Gambaryan has contracted both malaria and double pneumonia since his incarceration in Abuja’s Kuje Prison. Although Nigeria dropped the tax evasion charges against Gambaryan on June 14, he is still ordered to stand trial for an alleged money laundering operation involving more than $35 million. These same charges face a British-Kenyan colleague, who managed to flee Nigeria, and Binance itself.
As head of financial crime compliance at Binance, Gambaryan was invited to assist Nigeria in February only to be jailed in an ironic twist for a celebrated investigator with a record of cracking tough cybercrime cases cited in the Andy Greenberg book, Tracers in the Dark, reported Federal Newswire on May 8. The term "hostage" is key to the argument of 16 Congress members in a June 4 letter to President Joe Biden and others seeking accelerated action to return Gambaryan to wife and children in Suwanee, Georgia, according to Federal Newswire on June 6.
In his June 20 post on X, Hill, one of the signers on that letter, said that his visit to Nigeria revealed conditions that should place this case under the purview of the Congressional Task Force on American Hostages and Americans Wrongfully Detained Abroad.
In the post, which reached 97 million viewers as of July 1, Hill said, "Yesterday, @RepHoulahan and I visited with U.S. citizen Tigran Gambaryan in Kuje Prison in Nigeria. We found him suffering from the conditions there, as he has malaria and double pneumonia, and he reports that he has lost significant weight. Even worse, he's being denied access to adequate medical attention."
He pushed for action, saying: "Tigran must be immediately granted a humanitarian release, the remaining charges dropped, and he must return home to America where he belongs.”
Houlahan indicated during a video on X that their first-hand observations may be just the ammunition needed to intensify efforts to get Gambaryan released.
“We did find pretty difficult conditions that he was under. He was clearly under a lot of stress and his health is not very good,” Houlahan posted. “So, we bring that news back with us, and we will hopefully be able to put the full force of America behind us and him to make sure he is returned home safely and healthfully.”
Gambaryan’s health has been enough of a concern to have postponed proceedings against him, after he collapsed in court on May 23 and was unable to complete the day’s legal events. These proceedings at Federal High Court in Abuja were to start up again on June 20.
Although the X statement cited inadequate medical treatment for Gambaryan, the Nigerian government recently said that he has not been denied care. According to DLNews, Nigeria’s Ministry of Information and National Orientation refuted the lawmakers’ reports, saying: “Gambaryan is being held in lawful detention and has access to quality medical care whenever required.”
The government used the word quality in connection with the healthcare that Gambaryan is receiving during his trial. As reported in the DLNews article, the ministry said, “The Federal Government will not do anything to jeopardize his fundamental human rights to lawful trial, and to quality care, including healthcare, even as he undergoes trial by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
According to the article, Gambaryan himself is declaring human rights abuses in his lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Nigeria’s national security adviser—the very entities that invited him to the country in February. A preliminary hearing on the matter is set for July 9 if judicial vacation schedules do not interfere.
Meanwhile, Hill gave his view on X that Gambaryan is being wrongfully detained and touched upon the irony of these charges, saying: “Tigran is a guy who works for Binance. He’s a former IRS agent; He’s a law enforcement guy. In fact, in the video when he was taken by the Nigerians, he said, ‘I’ve been a cop all my life.’”
Hill also mentioned how “at the time of his arrest he was working as a contract employee at Binance and was instrumental in criminal investigations and compliance in cooperation with Nigerian authorities.”
At the end of the lawmakers’ joint video, Hill said, the U.S. Embassy must advocate for Gambaryan because of the horrible jail conditions, his innocence and his health.
He again stressed the importance of treating Gambaryan as a hostage in securing his release. “Clearly in our view, Tigran fits in that camp. We want him home, and we can let Binance, his employer, deal with the Nigerians.”