A bipartisan group of 18 state attorneys general has joined the call from U.S. officials to designate Tigran Gambaryan as a hostage. The attorneys general shared their statement in an October 18 press release.
In the letter, the attorneys general said that Gambaryan, a former U.S. government agent and current Binance employee, is being held “unlawfully” by the Nigerian government. They alleged that Nigeria is attempting to use Gambaryan as “leverage” in a dispute with Binance. “This blatant misuse of power is nothing less than extortion, and it must be met with the full weight of the U.S. Government’s influence, particularly given America’s financial and political support of the current political regime in Nigeria,” they said. By designating Gambaryan as a “hostage” under the Levinson Act, additional resources could be unlocked by the U.S. government to secure his release. The attorneys general emphasized that bringing Gambaryan home is “urgent” due to his deteriorating health while in Nigerian prison.
In July, Congressman Rich McCormick filed a resolution with the House Foreign Affairs Committee urging the Nigerian government to release Gambaryan. According to McCormick’s resolution, Nigerian officials admitted openly in court that Gambaryan is being tried instead of pursuing legal action against his employer. McCormick urged the U.S. government to formally declare Gambaryan as a “U.S. citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government” and called on Nigeria to provide him with adequate medical care and ensure he receives due process.
According to CoinDesk, Members of Congress French Hill (R-Ark.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) visited Gambaryan in prison in June. Hill described Kuje Prison as “horrible” and noted that Gambaryan had experienced significant weight loss and was denied adequate medical treatment for malaria and double pneumonia. Hill said after the visit, “We have a taskforce in Congress that is on Americans wrongfully detained abroad or held hostage. Clearly in our view, Tigran fits in that camp.” He added, “We want him home and we can let Binance, his employer, deal with the Nigerians.”
Sixteen members of Congress wrote a letter in June urging President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens to classify Gambaryan as a “U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government” and escalate his case to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. They claimed that Gambaryan’s detention has been marked by excessive treatment and coercion tactics by Nigeria against Binance.
Before joining Binance in 2021, Gambaryan spent ten years working as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Cyber Crimes Unit. According to Binance’s post, he investigated cases involving national security threats during his career there.
