U.S. Representative French Hill said that the Nigerian government is jeopardizing its relationship with the United States due to its treatment of Tigran Gambaryan, a former U.S. federal agent and current Binance employee. Hill shared his statement during a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on September 11.
"In this administration, we've seen a lot of action on American citizens wrongfully detained abroad, and they frequently get a designation, but suddenly here we have a country like Nigeria, where we removed them from the list in the Biden administration on religious freedom issues," said Hill. "We've signed a commercial investment partnership with that country in the middle of this personal tragedy, and I don't think the leadership - the National Security Advisor, the president, the cabinet leadership in Nigeria - gets they're putting our relationship on the line because of the way they're handling this situation."
According to CoinDesk, Gambaryan was invited by Nigerian government officials to travel to Abuja in February to participate in compliance discussions. Nigerian authorities accused Binance of devaluing the naira and placed Gambaryan under house arrest. He was later charged with financial crimes and transferred to Kuje prison, where his health has declined significantly. He contracted malaria in May and collapsed in court; in June, he was pushed into a courtroom in a wheelchair. His wife has expressed concerns that he is at risk of "permanent damage" unless he receives proper medical treatment.
The Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN) said that the ongoing imprisonment of Gambaryan could damage international support for Nigeria. BICCoN emphasized the need for a "balanced approach" and urged the Nigerian government to consider the impact of Gambaryan's detention on the country's emerging industries and other business sectors. "To mitigate these risks and promote a thriving blockchain ecosystem, BICCoN urges the Nigerian government to prioritize constructive dialogue that will lead to a healthy conclusion of the matter," BICCoN said.
The Digital Chamber, a U.S. blockchain industry advocacy group, described Gambaryan's detention as "a distressing breach of international law." The Chamber said this act appears to be a state-sponsored kidnapping, noting that Gambaryan was invited to Nigeria "under false pretenses." The Chamber further said that his imprisonment "under such dubious circumstances sets a dangerous precedent, signaling that any American businessman abroad, particularly those in the cryptocurrency sector, is vulnerable to similar unlawful actions by foreign governments."
The U.S. State Department describes its relationship with Nigeria as being based on advancing shared interests in security cooperation, global health security, development and humanitarian response, economic growth, democracy, and respect for human rights. According to the Department's website, the U.S. provided almost $1.2 billion in foreign assistance resources to Nigeria in Fiscal Year 2022.
Before joining Binance in 2021, Gambaryan spent ten years working as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Cyber Crimes Unit. In his role with the IRS, Gambaryan investigated cases involving national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations during his award-winning career. When he joined Binance, Gambaryan said: "I want to educate the worldwide law enforcement community on how Binance is a partner in the fight against the illicit use of cryptocurrency, keeping the ecosystem more secure and moving it forward sustainably."