Author Andy Greenberg stated that Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan needs to be brought home from a Nigerian prison, where his health has deteriorated to the point that he requires surgery. Greenberg, who authored the book "Tracers in the Dark," which details Gambaryan's career with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation unit prior to joining Binance, shared his statement in an Aug. 16 post on X.
"Tigran Gambaryan is still in Nigerian jail as the country's courts adjourn for the summer," said Greenberg. "He has a herniated disc, can't walk, is on blood thinners for clots because he's bedridden. Also needs his tonsils removed due to throat infections. This can't go on."
According to CoinDesk, Gambaryan was invited to meet with Nigerian government officials in Abuja in February but was placed under house arrest without reason. Nigerian authorities later charged Gambaryan with financial crimes and moved him to Kuje prison. The Nigerian government accused Binance of devaluing the naira without evidence and requested nearly $10 billion for Gambaryan's release. "Tigran has been unjustly held for close to half a year now," said Binance CEO Richard Teng. "He needs medical treatment before his conditions become permanent."
While imprisoned, Gambaryan contracted malaria, CoinDesk reported. Due to an absence of proper medical treatment for malaria, Gambaryan contracted multiple throat infections as well as double pneumonia. He is also suffering from a herniated disc in his back. He collapsed in court and later appeared in court in a wheelchair. According to his family, he is being denied adequate access to his legal team and appropriate medical care. Members of Congress, crypto industry leaders, and former U.S. federal prosecutors have called on President Joe Biden and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens to secure Gambaryan's release.
Andrew Adams, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP and a former acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), said the US government should stop its discretionary forfeited fund sharing with Nigeria until Gambaryan is released, according to an opinion Adams authored. The DOJ shares funds resulting from international investigations pertaining to cybersecurity, anti-terrorism, and cross-border money laundering as a means to foster international cooperation. In 2020, the DOJ transferred more than $310 million to Nigeria through this sharing program. "This should stop," Adams said. By stopping the sharing program, the US government can express its "objection to Nigeria’s abuse of its police power" while holding back funds that could otherwise be going to "the very authorities now engaged in that abuse."
For ten years, Gambaryan was a US federal agent who investigated cases related to "national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations," according to a post on Binance's website. Binance hired him in 2021 to help fix historical compliance issues; in 2022 and 2023, his team assisted law enforcement agencies around the world in freezing and seizing more than $2.2 billion worth of assets. The book "Tracers in the Dark" describes Gambaryan's career as a preeminent cyber crimes investigator.
Greenberg is described as an award-winning author by Amazon; his book details the work of Gambaryan and other investigators who have tracked down criminals using crypto for illicit purposes.
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