Two US lawmakers, French Hill and Chrissy Houhalan, are demanding the immediate release of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan from Kuje prison in Nigeria. They visited him on Wednesday and urged that all charges against him be dropped.
Gambaryan, an American citizen, has been in detention since February. He faces charges of money laundering and operating unlicensed financial activities.
Recently, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) dropped tax evasion charges against him and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped detention in March, leaving Binance as the only defendant.
“We found him suffering from the conditions there, as he has malaria and double pneumonia, and he reports that he has lost significant weight.” Hill wrote on X. “Even worse, he’s being denied access to adequate medical attention.”
This situation has increased political pressure in the US. Sixteen American lawmakers accuse Nigeria of holding Gambaryan hostage. On June 6, Axios reported that former US prosecutors and federal agents wrote to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, urging him to intensify efforts to secure Gambaryan’s release.
Despite the tax charges being dropped, Gambaryan remains in custody because of pending money laundering charges from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). A court ruling is still awaited.
Gambaryan’s lawyers have filed a petition with an Abuja Federal High Court, asking the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the EFCC to compensate him for his extended detention.
“It is time for the Nigerian authorities to do the right thing and let my innocent husband go,” said Gambaryan’s wife, Yuri, through her spokesperson.
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