Two US lawmakers are moving a resolution that demands Nigerian authorities release an imprisoned high-ranking Binance executive.
Republicans French Hill of Arizona and Rich McCormick of Georgia authored a resolution that calls for the immediate release of Binance’s head of financial crime compliance Tigran Gambaryan.
Gambaryan, a US citizen, has been held in custody in Nigeria since February.
Says McCormick,
“The continued detention of Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria is a clear violation of his rights and a grave injustice. We urge the Nigerian government to immediately release him and provide him with the necessary medical care and due process rights. The United States Government must do everything in its power to secure the release of one of our citizens wrongfully detained abroad.”
Hill expresses concern about Gambaryan’s health after visiting him in Nigeria.
If approved, the resolution would also call on the US government to officially declare Gambaryan as a “citizen being wrongfully detained by a foreign government.”
In February, Gambaryan was arrested alongside his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, who managed to escape the country. He had traveled to Nigeria to engage in regulatory talks.
In March, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leveled various charges against Binance, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, the regional manager for the crypto exchange’s Africa operations.
The charges included “operating without the required license, unlawfully negotiating foreign exchange rates, tax evasion and concealing the origin of illegal proceeds and revenue of $35.4 million.”
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