US Lawmakers Visit Binance Exec in Nigeria Jail

Two US lawmakers travel to Nigeria to see an arrested Binance CEO.

Tigran Gambaryan, the executive of Binance, visited French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan, two US congressmen. Gambaryan is being held in Nigeria while an investigation is still ongoing.

US House Representative Hill revealed on Friday, June 21, in a post on X social media that he and his colleague Houlahan had visited Gambaryan at Kuje Prison in Abuja.

According to Hill, they discovered Gambaryan suffering from pneumonia and malaria in a very bad way.

Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen, was visited by Chrissy Houlahan and me yesterday at Kuje Prison in Nigeria. He tells us he has lost a lot of weight and that he has double pneumonia in addition to malaria when we found him there. Even worse, he can't get the proper medical care that he needs.

“Although I am pleased that Nigeria dropped tax evasion charges against Tigran on 6/14, it's my view that he's being wrongfully detained on charges related to money laundering.

“Tigran has devoted his professional life to fighting money laundering and tax evasion, having spent ten years as an IRS Special Agent where he successfully led cyber and financial crime investigations.” Hill said.

Twelve lawmakers, including Hill and Houlahan, have pleaded with President Biden and the hostage affairs unit to help free Binance CEO Tigran Gambaryan, who is being held by Nigerian officials on suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion.

The US lawmakers said that Tigran Gambaryan is being unfairly detained by the Nigerian government in a letter addressed to President Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens. They underlined that in order to stop the situation from getting worse, quick action is required.

The lawmakers said in the letter that the allegations made against Gambaryan—which included tax evasion and money laundering—were unfounded and were made up by Nigerian officials in an attempt to pressure Binance.

The United States citizen Gambaryan tested positive for malaria and has not yet received proper treatment, they noted, underscoring his rapidly declining health.