Fintopio CEO Steve Milton described the Nigerian government's treatment of Binance's Tigran Gambaryan as "unconscionable" given his dedication to law enforcement and his lack of decision-making authority within the company. Milton shared his statement in a September 2 post on X.
"What is happening to Tigran is unconscionable," said Milton. "Tigran is not a Binance executive. He is a highly respected, mid-level law enforcement professional who was invited to Nigeria by the Nigeria Government. The fact that he is still be held in custody since March is appalling."
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. He contracted malaria in May and collapsed in court; in June, he was pushed into a courtroom in a wheelchair. His wife says he is at risk of "permanent damage" unless he receives proper medical treatment.
Two senior U.S. State Department officials who requested anonymity told the New York Times that U.S. government pressure on Nigeria to release Gambaryan is mounting. U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the ambassador to Nigeria, have urged their Nigerian counterparts to free Gambaryan on humanitarian grounds, citing his worsening health. Bayo Onanuga, an advisor to the Nigerian president, said, "Talks are ongoing." Gambaryan's attorney, Robert S. Litt, said, "Nigerian authorities know he is wholly innocent" of the charges against him.
Gambaryan's wife Yuki said in a Change.org petition that the U.S. government should leverage its "strong ties with the Nigerian government to bring an American who has dedicated his entire career to fighting crime and upholding the rule of law back home to his family." According to the petition, the U.S. State Department describes its relationship with Nigeria as being "built on shared interests and values, as well as strong people-to-people ties…The United States and Nigeria enjoy a deep and enduring partnership that spans more than six decades." The State Department also notes that the U.S. "is proud to be one of the largest foreign investors in Nigeria with foreign direct investment totaling $5.6 billion in 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, according to a post from Binance. 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," according to the post. Gambaryan said when he joined Binance that he wanted "to educate the worldwide law enforcement community on how Binance is a partner in the fight against the illicit use of cryptocurrency."
Milton co-founded Fintopio in December 2023, according to LinkedIn. He has previously worked as head of communications for Shopify and is currently a board advisor for AI Analysis.