Key Points
Former U.S. federal agent Tigran Gambaryan has been illegally detained in Nigeria for six months, with his physical and mental health rapidly deteriorating.
The Nigerian government has violated the country’s constitution by ignoring Tigran’s extreme pain and inability to walk, refusing to provide him with necessary medical care or legal counsel, and he has been denied support from the U.S. Consulate.
The Nigerian government has justified Tigran’s detention by accusing Binance of being linked to the country’s economic problems, including the devaluation of the naira, with trumped-up charges. This claim is without factual basis, as explained below.
There is no need to detain innocent employees for any allegations against Binance. Binance has had disputes with other countries around the world, but they were successfully resolved without implicating employees.
Binance calls on the United States to intervene and advocates globally. We strongly urge the U.S. government, as well as global citizens and organizations, to exert political pressure to release Tigran on humanitarian grounds and to speak out against Nigeria’s unfair detention.
Tigran Gambaryan has been unfairly detained for six months, and his physical and mental condition is rapidly deteriorating. His situation is dire. He suffers from excruciating pain all over his body and cannot walk due to a herniated disc. However, the Nigerian government has ignored his poor health and failed to provide him with adequate medical care, including the use of a wheelchair.
Furthermore, despite his trial beginning on September 2, the authorities have denied him access to legal counsel. We have been told that this is a violation of Nigeria’s constitution. The government has been slow to release Tigran’s medical records, despite court orders for months. This week, Tigran was denied access to his U.S. consulate representative, making these actions inexplicable.
I am deeply concerned about the long-lasting and potentially irreversible physical and psychological damage this horrific incident will cause Tigran, and I once again call on the Nigerian government to allow him to return home to his family on humanitarian grounds so that he can receive appropriate treatment in the United States to help him recover and resume his previously healthy and active life.
Tigran should not be detained on trumped-up charges.
The Nigerian government’s argument for continuing to detain Tigran was that “Binan operates online and the only person we can detain is this defendant.” The prosecutor’s attorney expressed this view during the bail hearing, arguing that Tigran was a flight risk and should not be released on bail.
This view could not be further from the truth. There is no need to jail innocent employees for any of the allegations against Binance. We have resolved issues with multiple countries around the world, including the United States, Thailand, and most recently Brazil and India, working with governments in a reasonable, friendly and collaborative manner without threatening or harming our employees.
In addition, the Nigerian government has also claimed that Binance is responsible for the devaluation of its country's currency, a claim that has no factual basis. From 2021 to the end of 2022, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the naira fluctuated in a relatively small range of 1:380 to 1:440. During that period, we have been providing a value-added service, C2C, to users who want to get exposure to cryptocurrencies. Experts said that the government's termination of the naira's currency peg in June 2023 caused the US dollar to fall by the largest amount in history against the naira, from 1:460 in June 2023 to 1:900 by the end of 2023. Since then, it has continued to decline. On July 31, 2024, the exchange rate of the US dollar to the naira hit a recent low of 1:1,660, a 50% drop from the beginning of 2024. This downward trend continues despite Binance ceasing to offer C2C services in the country in February 2024. As economists explain more euphemistically, a country’s currency fluctuations are influenced by a variety of macroeconomic factors.
It’s important to note that Nigeria has never been a major market for Binance. The government says we’ll earn $26 billion in revenue from Nigeria in 2023. However, that’s not true. The $21.6 billion is the total trading volume for 2023. To explain what trading volume is: if someone takes out $1,000 and trades it 1,000 times, that’s equivalent to $1 million in trading volume. Our actual revenue depends on a small portion of trading fees, and we’re proud to offer our users the lowest fees of any exchange in the world.
Call to Action
Tigran is a self-respecting American who does not deserve this unfair treatment. I sincerely hope that the U.S. government and political institutions can exert their political will and power to help Tigran return home as soon as possible so that he can receive adequate treatment and reunite with his family and friends. The U.S. government and legislators have the authority to designate Tigran as an American citizen who is "unlawfully detained" overseas, and there are good reasons to support this action.
Global citizens should speak up and pressure the Nigerian government to emphasize that this unfounded unilateral action is detrimental to the country’s long-term economic development and well-being. If key stakeholders in the Nigerian government can decide that Tigran is being unfairly and unlawfully detained, then they can also make a fair decision to allow this former US federal agent to return home. On a humanitarian basis, we urge all Nigerian decision-makers to allow Tigran to return home safely to his wife and two young children.
Once these issues are addressed, we look forward to working with the Nigerian government to support the growth of the Web3 industry, create more opportunities for a young and talented workforce, and attract more foreign direct investment.
Richard Teng, CEO of Binance.
