The Digital Chamber, a leading blockchain and cryptocurrency association, is calling on President Biden to address the detention of U.S. citizen Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria. Gambaryan, who serves as the head of Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance department, was detained along with a colleague by Nigerian authorities in February without charges.
According to an entry on the Digital Chamber's blog, Nigerian officials reportedly arrested Gambaryan on Feb. 26, 2024, under false pretenses. The post indicates that Gambaryan and his Binance coworker were invited to the country only to be apprehended upon arrival. Their passports were allegedly seized and they were transported by armed personnel to an undisclosed location. The blog post also states that both Gambaryan and his colleague have been denied unsupervised legal counsel.
The Digital Chamber characterizes Gambaryan's arrest as a "distressing breach of international law" in its blog post, suggesting it could be tantamount to state-sponsored kidnapping. It speculates that the government may have detained Gambaryan as leverage for Binance to pay a $10 billion fine.
In its blog post, the Digital Chamber warns that this incident sets a worrying precedent for American businesspeople abroad, particularly those involved in the cryptocurrency market. It highlights that Nigeria is considered a U.S. ally—receiving over $1 billion in foreign aid annually from the United States.
The blog post concludes with an appeal to the Biden Administration for intervention: "This incident demands a robust response from the United States. We call upon President Biden and the U.S. government to employ every diplomatic measure to ensure Mr. Gambaryan’s immediate release. The unwarranted detention of Tigran Gambaryan is more than a legal issue; it is a matter of national dignity and the protection of American citizens worldwide."
