US diplomats demand release of Binance executive in Nigeria over health concerns, NYT reports

The US government is quietly pressuring Nigeria to release Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive who has been detained in the country since February.

Gambaryan reportedly suffered serious health problems while in detention, prompting calls for his release on humanitarian grounds.

Humanitarian concerns

According to a New York Times report, two unnamed senior State Department officials revealed that U.S. diplomats were behind-the-scenes lobbying Nigerian officials to secure his release.

In May, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken raised Gambaryan’s case directly with Nigeria’s foreign minister. Since then, several diplomats, including Ambassador Richard M. Mills Jr., have engaged in private discussions with President Bola Tinubu and several key ministers, including those in charge of finance and trade, to call for his release.

Diplomats cited humanitarian concerns, noting that the Binance executive was suffering from malaria and complications from a herniated disc. His family also claims he did not receive adequate medical care in prison, which worsened his condition.

However, the country’s authorities say he has access to adequate medical care, with a government official saying that “the court is the appropriate forum to assess the merits of any prosecution.”

Bayo Onanuga, a senior adviser to President Tinubu, acknowledged the US government’s concerns and confirmed that discussions were ongoing. “The government will do everything it can within the law, and also taking into account the humanitarian rights of Gambarians,” Onanuga said.

Richard Teng also criticised the country’s government for its “inhumane treatment” of the company’s criminal compliance officer, following a video showing him in distress during a court appearance.

Strained relations

Meanwhile, Gambaryan’s imprisonment has become a major point of contention in U.S.-Nigerian relations, according to unnamed officials.

Gambaryan’s lawyers have also asked the U.S. State Department to label him “wrongfully detained” to increase pressure on Nigeria. In July, Rep. Rich McCormick introduced a resolution calling his detention a “hostage situation,” accusing Nigeria of holding him to extort money from the cryptocurrency exchange.

The former law enforcement officer was arrested while on a business trip to Nigeria, where he was holding meetings about Binance’s operations in that country.

Authorities accused the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange of destabilizing the local economy by allowing funds to be transferred out of the country and devaluing the national currency. The executive was later charged with money laundering and tax evasion, but the tax charges were later dropped.

Despite these developments, Binance maintains that Gambaryan should not be held liable for the company’s actions, noting that he is a mid-level employee.