U.S. Urges Nigeria To Release Tigran Gambaryan: NY Times
Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.
The U.S. is urging the Nigerian government to release detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, according to a Thursday report by The New York Times.
U.S. Presses Nigeria to Release Imprisoned Binance Employee – Diplomats are calling for the release of Tigran Gambaryan, an employee of the crypto exchange who was arrested in February. via @nytimes https://t.co/vBmSkEDafp
Gambaryan has been held since February on money laundering charges, straining diplomatic relations between the two countries.
According to the report, two anonymous State Department officials stated that Gambaryan’s detention is a “significant factor” in the current state of U.S.-Nigeria diplomatic relations.
Both Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken and the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria have privately advocated for Gambaryan’s release during discussions with Nigerian authorities.
The crypto compliance chief, well-known within Binance for leading regulatory efforts, was detained in February on accusations of money laundering.
His arrest has raised questions about Nigeria’s handling of the case, as well as Gambaryan’s limited decision-making power within the company.
The legitimacy of his arrest has been called into question due to Nigeria’s concerns about Binance’s business operations in the country.
When U.S. Representatives French Hill (R-AR) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) visited the detained crypto employee at Kuje prison near Abuja this past June, they found Gambaryan in poor health.
Yesterday, @RepHoulahan and I visited with US citizen Tigran Gambaryan in Kuje
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