Number of Days Tigran Is Held Hostage
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On February 25, 2024, Tigran Gambaryan arrived in Abuja, Nigeria at the invitation of the Nigerian government for policy meetings on behalf of his employer.
Tigran flew in from Suwanee, Georgia where his young family lives. He was only supposed to be there for 48 hours and traveled with just a small bag. Now, multiple weeks later, the Nigerian authorities continue to refuse to allow him to leave the country as they work-up bogus charges, and the conditions of his detention have worsened significantly.
Readers are asked to not only sign this petition but also share it with your friends and family calling on the US Government to do more to bring one of their own home.
Born in Yerevan, Armenia, and raised in California, Tigran is a husband, son, and most importantly, a remarkable father. He’s a former US Government official and globally recognized expert for his work in law enforcement.
Tigran is renowned worldwide for his dedication to cleaning up the crypto industry and collaborating with governments and stakeholders to combat financial crimes. His efforts have brought down some of history’s most notorious cyber criminals, including drug dealers, human-traffickers, and money launderers.
Tigran’s work in battling cyber crime and retrieving millions of dollars for the US government is so important that it was featured in a book called “Tracers in the Dark“. It highlights how Tigran was an integral part of the take down of the notorious Alphabay dark web market and investigating a corrupt DEA agent who stole millions in bitcoin.
He was hired by Binance to make crypto safer and fix past compliance issues. He even trained Nigeria’s EFCC officers – the very same people who are now holding him – on how to fight cyber crime. Over the course of 2022 and 2023, Tigran and his team helped law enforcement globally seize more than $2.2bn worth of illicit funding. It is deeply ironic that he is being charged with the crimes he spent his life fighting. He is an innocent man, a pawn in someone else’s game.
What has made this situation worse is that our government, the US government, has not made any progress to bring him home. In fact, as of 3rd April, representatives from the US embassy in Nigeria have not even visited him for over 12 days.
Tigran is innocent.
What Happened?
On February 25, 2024, Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive and former federal agent, arrived in Abuja, Nigeria for policy meetings at the Nigerian government’s invitation. During his stay, his passport was confiscated, and he was moved to a “guest house” where he was unlawfully detained.
Despite assurances to the American Embassy that Tigran was at the guest house voluntarily, he was held there for nearly a month before facing charges. These charges included tax evasion and money laundering, which are allegations against Binance, not Tigran personally. The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) prosecutor stated that Tigran is being charged because, “The 1st defendant (Binance) is operating virtually. The only thing we have to hold on to is this defendant.”
On June 14, 2024, the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service dropped the tax evasion charges against Tigran and agreed to address them directly with Binance through a local representative. However, the trial for the remaining charges by the EFCC began on May 17, 2024, and while cross-examination of witnesses has started, no evidence has linked Tigran to these allegations. The court has recessed until October.
Tigran’s legal team faced significant obstacles, including denial of prison access from July 26 to August 14, 2024, in violation of Nigerian law. When they were finally allowed a brief 5-minute visit, it was insufficient for proper trial preparation. Access has since been denied again.
Tigran remains imprisoned in Kuje prison, a facility known for housing members of terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram.
Tigran’s Health
Since being detained, Tigran has suffered from malaria and pneumonia. A severely herniated disc has left him in debilitating pain and hardly able to walk. Tigran has been told that as a result of being bedridden his muscles have atrophied and he has to take blood thinners to avoid blood clots. He now has severe tonsillitis and he has been told he needs surgery to remove his tonsils.
The US Embassy also no longer has access to Tigran as the prison has been directed to not allow Tigran to use a wheelchair and he cannot physically walk to the visitor area.
The Nigerian authorities have refused to release Tigran’s medical records to his legal team and the American embassy despite repeated court orders that they do so. The judge presiding over the case has therefore issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the Nigerian prison doctor.