Henri Arslanian, co-founder and managing partner of the cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund Nine Blocks Capital Management, has expressed concern over the detention of Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen and Binance employee. According to a post made by Arslanian on March 30, Gambaryan, who is also a former U.S. federal agent, "has dedicated his life to fighting crime and upholding the rule of law" and must be repatriated.
"Our friend Tigran Gambaryan has now been moved to detention after a month of being arbitrarily held in #Nigeria," said Arslanian, according to X. "We need to bring back home this individual who has dedicated his life to fighting crime and upholding the rule of law. I have known Tigran for many years starting from his days as a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service fighting crypto crime. Tigran played a leading role in bringing down the biggest crypto criminal platforms including Silk Road, AlphaBay, Hydra, BTC-E, etc."
CoinDesk reported that Gambaryan was invited to Nigeria by government officials in February but was subsequently detained. Gambaryan has since filed a lawsuit in the Federal High Court of Abuja, Nigeria's capital, alleging that his human rights have been violated. The Nigerian government has accused Binance of manipulating the country's currency exchange rate.
On March 15, according to a post on its website, the Chamber of Digital Commerce issued an "urgent call to action," urging President Joe Biden and the U.S. government "to employ every diplomatic measure to ensure Mr. Gambaryan’s immediate release." The chamber stated that Gambaryan "appears to have been invited to Nigeria under false pretenses" and is now being held in order to "coerce" a fine from Binance. It further noted that "Tigran Gambaryan’s detainment under such dubious circumstances sets a dangerous precedent."
Binance recognized Gambaryan as someone who is globally acknowledged for his dedication to law enforcement. For ten years, he served as a U.S. federal agent investigating cases related to national security issues including terrorism financing, identity theft, distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and bank secrecy act violations while working with the FBI and United States Secret Service.
In Nigeria, according to Binance's post, Gambaryan and his team responded to more than 600 requests from law enforcement agencies in recent years. The information provided by his team has been instrumental in tackling crimes ranging from scams and fraud to money laundering, blackmail, kidnapping, and extortion.
Arslanian co-founded the Dubai-based firm Nine Blocks Capital Management in 2022. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Hong Kong and chairman of the board of ACX International. Prior to this, he worked as a partner and global crypto leader at PwC.
