US attorneys general from several states have asked US President Joe Biden to intervene in the detention of Binance executive Tigran Gimbrayan by Nigerian authorities. The development comes months after a similar approach from some US lawmakers who raised concerns over the former IRS agent’s deteriorating health.
US prosecutors urge Biden to declare Tigran detention a hostage situation
In a recent letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 18 US attorneys general expressed serious concerns about Gambaryan, who has been detained in Nigeria for more than seven months. The American citizen and Binance employee, alongside his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, was arrested by Nigerian authorities in February following a visit to the West African country for regulatory matters related to crypto exchange.
Anjarwalla eventually escaped Nigeria in March, while Gambrayan was forced to stay in Nigeria to stand trial for money laundering and tax evasion, among other charges, on behalf of Binance. However, attorneys general in Utah, Connecticut and Kansas, among other states, have called Gambrayan’s detention illegal and merely serving as leverage for Nigerian authorities in the ongoing feud with the Binance exchange.
Lawyers also highlighted Gambrayan’s declining health, where he was denied access to treatments for malaria, pneumonia and a herniated disc leading to motor deficits. They explain that the conditions in which the Binance executive is being held could lead to death, as seen in the previous case of American student Otto Warmbier in North Korea.
Given these factors, the attorneys general asked Biden to designate Gambrayan as a hostage under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Accountability Act, which will allow the use of government resources and increased diplomatic pressure to secure the rapid release of the Binance employee. .
Binance leader deserves our best – American AGM
In pushing for a hostage designation, the US attorneys general also mention that Gambaryan had served the US government in several capacities before joining Binance as a financial crime compliance officer. These roles These include being a special agent of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and also a federal agent assisting in the takedown of dark web sites such as AlphaBay and Silk Road. They urged Biden to defend the life of an American citizen and fine officer of the law by every means available.
Other attorneys general who co-signed this petition are from states including New Hampshire, Maine, Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, the US Virgin Islands, Vermont and Virginia.
Featured image from Forbes, chart from Tradingview
