The US Congress was informed by Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of Tigran Gambaryan, a detained executive at Binance Holdings Limited, that the Nigerian Government had incarcerated her husband along with Boko Haram militants and bandits at Kuje prison.
Represented by Congressman Rich McCormick, Yuki spoke during a roundtable at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Americans held captive abroad, revealing that her husband has been held in custody for 65 days.
The detention of Gambaryan and another company executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, occurred on February 26 as part of an inquiry into Binance’s operations in Nigeria.
While clarifying that she did not speak on behalf of the company, Gambaryan’s wife emphasized that the allegations against her husband were baseless.
Expressing her plight, she shared, “My husband, Tigran, the father of our two young children, has been in Nigerian custody for 65 days, which have felt like the longest two months of our lives. Upon landing in Abuja on February 25 at the request of the Nigerian Government for financial compliance matters, Tigran was apprehended. This is his area of expertise – assisting countries in navigating the complex realm of financial compliance, crime, and regulations.”
She continued, “He dedicates his time to investigating criminal activities on the Binance cryptocurrency platform where he is employed. However, within 24 hours of his arrival, he was arrested and detained without any formal charges or explanations. Currently, my husband is confined in the notorious Kuje prison, a facility that has housed militants linked to groups like Islamic State and Boko Haram.”
The wife of Gambaryan accused the Nigerian Government of exploiting her husband as a bargaining tool, labeling the situation as utterly devastating.
Detailing Tigran’s professional background, she mentioned, “Ironically, Tigran served over a decade as a special agent with the United States General Revenue Service, specializing in investigations related to national security, terrorist funding, identity theft, illicit distribution of content, tax evasion, among other areas.”
It is recalled that on April 8, the Nigerian Government arraigned Binance and Gambaryan on five counts of money laundering.