Crypto news: on the case of Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive imprisoned in Nigeria, the federals are moving by asking for support from the USA government. In fact, over 100 agents and former prosecutors have written a letter of solicitation to the American State Department to release the detainee.
Summary
Crypto News: the federals urge the USA government for the release of the Binance executive in Nigeria
There are over 100 federal agents and former prosecutors who are urging the USA government to intervene in the case of the Binance executive, currently imprisoned in Nigeria.
Specifically, yesterday a letter was sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which urges the U.S. State Department to ensure the release of Tigran Gambaryan.
“The undersigned, former prosecutors and federal agents, urgently request that the State Department intensify efforts to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, from custody in Nigeria. The efforts of the U.S. government have so far been completely insufficient and the consequences of further inaction are potentially dire”
Apparently, the concerns towards Gambaryan are so strong that all the colleagues, former government officials, have stepped in to assist the current Binance executive.
A brief description of Gambaryan’s life is given to the government, recognizing his award-winning career.
In fact, it is read that the Binance executive dedicated ten years of service to the country as a special agent of the Internal Revenue Service. During these years, Gambaryan contributed to investigations on important government cases such as child pornography, national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, and a myriad of other crimes.
The letter also mentions public cases that the current Binance executive has worked on, such as the public corruption cases of Silk Road, the BTC-e exchange, the 2020 Twitter hacking, the Welcome to Video child pornography ring, the investigations into the AlphaBay and Hydra markets, and the Mt. Gox hacking.
The letter then continues by describing Gambaryan’s entry into Binance in September 2021, up to the case of Nigeria, which began in January 2024.
Crypto News: the federals want the release of the Binance executive in Nigeria for “false accusations”
The 108 former prosecutors and federal agents continued in their letter to describe the current situation of Gambaryan of Binance in Nigeria.
“In February 2024, at the invitation of the Nigerian government and with its security guarantees, Tigran left his home outside Atlanta and returned to Nigeria to continue discussions on compliance. Instead of the promised friendly meeting, Tigran had his passport confiscated and was arrested. After being held for nearly a month without charges being filed, Tigran is now detained on false charges of money laundering and tax evasion. Tigran is completely innocent of these charges and, as a mid-level employee of Binance, does not hold a role that makes him an appropriate scapegoat for the company.”
“False accuse di riciclaggio di denaro e evasione fiscale” sarebbero le ragioni per cui il governo USA dovrebbe intervenire, per poter garantire il rilascio del dirigente di Binance.
Not only, the imprisonment of Gambaryan at Kuje has been described by officials as “inhuman”.
In fact, it seems that the US citizen detained might have contracted malaria and there is no confirmation that he has been taken to the hospital.
The letter then concludes as follows:
“In short, a former U.S. federal agent was held hostage in deplorable conditions for nearly three months by a foreign power in an apparent attempt to force his employer to resolve an issue that does not involve him. We implore you to leverage all the power of U.S. diplomacy to do the right thing, by demanding and securing the immediate release of Tigran to his family and the country he served with such honor.”
No bail and no trial
The strong concern of the American colleagues arises when already on May 17 Gambaryan was rejected by the court in Nigeria his bail request.
The court would have motivated such refusal with “risk of flight” on the part of the accused.
The dirigente di Binance è in prigione di Kuje, famosa per aver ospitato i peggior criminali della Nigeria, compresi i membri del gruppo terroristico Boko Haram.
