From Richard Teng, Binance CEO: Tigran’s Deteriorating Condition After 6 Months of Unjust Detention
Main Takeaways
Tigran Gambaryan, a former U.S. federal agent, has been detained in Nigeria for six months, with his physical and mental health rapidly deteriorating.
Despite Tigran being in severe pain and unable to walk, the Nigerian government has refused to provide him with necessary medical care or access to legal counsel, which is unconstitutional. He has also been denied access to U.S. consular support.
The Nigerian government justifies Tigran’s detention with baseless allegations linking Binance to the country's economic issues, including the Naira’s decline. This claim is not backed up by facts, as the text below will clarify.
Binance is calling for US intervention and global advocacy. We strongly urge the U.S. government and citizens and organizations globally to exert political pressure to secure Tigran’s release on humanitarian grounds and to protest against Nigeria's unjust detention practices.
We are now at the six-month mark of Tigran Gambaryan's unjust detention. Tigran’s physical and mental conditions have deteriorated rapidly, and his situation is now more dire than ever. He is in severe pain and unable to walk due to a herniated disc. Despite his condition, the Nigerian government has denied him adequate medical care, including basic needs such as access to a wheelchair.
Furthermore, the authorities are refusing to provide him access to his legal counsel, despite his trial commencing on September 2, which, we have been informed, is unconstitutional in Nigeria. A court has demanded the government release Tigran’s medical records, but after several months, they have still not complied. This week, Tigran was denied access to his US consulate representative. These actions are inexplicable.
I am deeply concerned about the long-term, potentially irreversible physical and mental impact this horrific episode is having on Tigran, and I appeal once again for the Nigerian government to allow him to go home to his family on humanitarian grounds so that he can seek the appropriate medical treatment in the US, recover and get back to the healthy, active life he previously had.
Baseless Allegations Should Not be Used to Continue to Hold Tigran
The reason that the Nigerian government has used to justify continuing to hold Tigran is that “Binance is operating virtually. The only thing we have to hold on to is this defendant.” This was stated by the prosecution's counsel during the bail application hearing where he advocated that Tigran should not be given bail as he is a flight risk.
This statement is far from the truth. There is no need to imprison an innocent employee to answer for any allegations against Binance. We have settled issues in countries around the world, including the US, Thailand, and most recently in Brazil and India, in a reasonable, collaborative, and amicable manner with governments. All these were done without threat or harm inflicted on our employees.
Another claim made by the Nigerian government was that Binance was responsible for its currency's decline, which is not backed up by facts. Between 2021 and the end of 2022, the Naira traded in a relatively narrow range between 1:380 and 1:440 to USD. We had been offering P2P services as a value-added service for our users wishing to get exposure to crypto during that time. The end of the Naira’s currency peg by the government in June 2023 caused the biggest fall in Naira’s history according to experts. It went from USD1:460 in June 2023 to USD1:900 by the end of 2023. The downward trend continued since. The Naira traded at a recent low of USD1:1,660 on July 31, 2024, representing a 50% decline from the start of 2024. This downward trend continued despite Binance ceasing to offer P2P services in the country in February 2024. As economists have more elegantly explained, the movement of a country’s currency is attributable to various macroeconomic factors.
It is useful to point out that Nigeria has never been a big market for Binance. The Government has said that we made $26B in revenue from Nigeria in 2023. That is not the case. The $26B figure is the total transaction volume from 2023. To provide an understanding of transaction volume: if a person were to take $1000 and trade it 1000 times, that would represent $1m in transaction volume. Our actual revenue is based on charging a small percentage of transaction fees, and we are proud to offer our users some of the lowest fees of any exchange globally.
Call to Action
Tigran is a proud American who should not be subject to such unjust treatment. It is my sincere hope that the American government and political apparatus can exert its political will and muscle to bring Tigran home soon, so that he can get adequate treatment and be reunited with his family and loved ones. The US administration and legislators have the power to designate Tigran as one of its “unlawfully detained” citizens overseas, and there are substantial reasons for them to do so.
People globally should add their voices and concerns, convincing the Nigerian government such unilateral action without a strong basis will be detrimental to the long-term economic development and well-being of the country. Key stakeholders in the government of Nigeria decided to unfairly and unlawfully detain Tigran, and they can just as easily make the fair decision to allow Tigran, a former US federal agent, to go home. We appeal on humanitarian grounds to all decision-makers in Nigeria to allow Tigran safe passage home to his wife and two young children.
Once these issues are resolved, we hope to work with the Nigerian government to support the development of the Web3 industry, create more opportunities for its young, talented workforce, and support the effort to attract more foreign direct investment.
Richard Teng, Binance CEO.