U.S. Representative Rich McCormick has put forward a bill to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive who has been held in Nigerian custody for several months.
The bill, titled “Urging the Government of Nigeria to immediately release Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan from imprisonment,” has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Gambaryan’s detention is connected with Nigerian authorities’ accusations against Binance and its executives for being involved in money laundering following earlier claims that the crypto exchange was affecting local currency growth. However, this case has attracted attention from the crypto space as well as U.S. lawmakers
Recently U.S. Congress members, French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan visited Nigeria on a national security mission where they had a meeting with Gambaryan. They reported disturbing details about his condition including having malaria and double pneumonia among other things. They further noted that he had lost lots of weight, and he was not receiving enough adequate medical assistance. However, Nigerian prison officials have disputed these claims about Gambaryan’s health status.
The situation has raised human rights concerns, with advocates calling for Gambaryan’s release and return to his family. Rep. McCormick, who represents Gambaryan’s home state of Georgia, is leading this legislative effort to address the ongoing detention.
Earlier this year, Nigerian authorities detained Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Arjarwalla, from the office of the National Security Adviser. The visit aimed to discuss regulatory matters. While Arjarwalla reportedly escaped custody, Gambaryan remains detained. Although tax evasion charges have been dropped, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) continues to pursue money laundering charges.
Binance has maintained that Gambaryan is not a decision-maker in the company and has continued to advocate for his release.
