Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan’s wife begs U.S. to facilitate husband’s release, warns foreign businesses to be wary of Nigerian govt

She decried that “innocent” Mr Gambaryan was “being held in increasingly worse conditions” and detained in Kuje prison.

Ahmed Oluwasanjo • April 8, 2024

Tigran Gambaryan [Credit: WIRED]

Yuki Gambaryan, wife of Binance official Tigran Gambaryan, has called on the American government to come to the rescue of her husband.

In a statement on Monday, Mrs Gambaryan berated the Nigerian government for holding her husband hostage as a scapegoat.

Mrs Gambaryan’s statement comes after the Abuja Division of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court declined her husband’s oral application to change his holding facility from Kuje prison to the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

She decried that “innocent” Mr Gambaryan was “being held in increasingly worse conditions” and detained in Kuje prison.

Mrs Gambaryan stated, “He is clearly a scapegoat for whatever problems they are facing, and it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man.”

Warning international businesses to avoid Nigeria, Mrs Gambaryan called on the United States of America to help facilitate the release of her husband.

Mrs Gambaryan said, “I am begging the American government to do anything to get Tigran out, and I am imploring the Nigerian government to realise that they are holding a completely innocent man. They can still do the right thing and release him whilst they negotiate with the actual decision-makers at Binance for a solution to the issues which they are facing.”

“International businesses should be very careful of doing anything in Nigeria, as their employees could suddenly be held hostage by the Nigerian government and treated like criminals for no reason,” she added.

Mr Gambaryan, a United States citizen who heads Binance’s financial crime compliance department, pleaded not guilty to a five-count money laundering charge on Monday. But the court ruling would see him detained in Kuje Prisons until his trial resumes on May 2.

Last week, Binance revealed that Mr Gambaryan trained 70 Economic Financial Crimes Commission officials and helped the antigraft agency recover $400,000 for Nigeria before National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu ambushed and arrested him and Nadeem Anjarwalla while on an official visit to Nigeria.

Mr Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager, escaped from lawful custody on March 22 and flew out of the country.

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