Jason Scharfman, the Chief Compliance Officer of Corgentum Consulting, stated it is "urgent" for the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance employee detained since February, due to Gambaryan's deteriorating health. Scharfman shared his statement in a July 16 post on X after Gambaryan appeared in Nigerian court in a wheelchair.
"Tigran Gambaryan is a Binance executive wrongfully being held in Nigeria," said Scharfman. "His health is deteriorating, and it is urgent that he be released!"
According to The Guardian, Nigerian authorities detained Gambaryan in February after inviting him to Abuja for policy meetings. Officials accused Binance of manipulating the naira's exchange rate, following widespread use of cryptocurrency by Nigerian citizens to protect their funds from the naira's volatility. Authorities charged Gambaryan with tax evasion and money laundering, charges to which he pleaded not guilty.
CoinDesk reported that Gambaryan, who previously worked as a special agent for the U.S. government, has been experiencing deteriorating health since being moved to Kuje Prison. He is suffering from malaria and pneumonia and now has a herniated disc that has left him "hardly able to walk." He had to be pushed into a Nigerian courtroom in a wheelchair on July 16. Prison officials have not complied with a court order to release Gambaryan's medical records.
Nigerian authorities dropped the tax evasion charge against Gambaryan but he still faces a money laundering charge "as a scapegoat for his employer," CoinDesk reported. The trial for this charge has been delayed until October. In a statement, Yuki Gambaryan said, "I am pleading with the Nigerian authorities to urgently release my husband on humanitarian grounds. This situation is destroying him. I need him safely home with us right now."
The U.S. State Department's 2023 report on human rights in Nigeria cited "significant human rights issues" including "harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary," and "serious government corruption."
Scharfman has served as chief compliance officer of Corgentum Consulting since 2008, according to LinkedIn. He previously worked as a financial analyst for Thompson Reuters and as a director at Morgan Stanley.
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