Dina Temple Raston, host of the Click Here podcast, described the detention of former U.S. federal agent Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria as "tragic" and "ironic." She noted that in his previous role with the government, he was "one of the IRS's most celebrated cryptocurrency investigators." Raston made these remarks during an April 23 episode of her podcast.
"The fact that Tigran Gambarian found himself in this kind of situation at all is not just tragic, it's also a little ironic, because, not so long ago, he was one of the IRS's most celebrated cryptocurrency investigators," said Raston. "He worked with the FBI to follow the Bitcoin to people behind dark markets like AlphaBay and Silk Road. He helped roll up dirty cops. And then, when he left the IRS a few years ago to join Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, he became a kind of liaison between international law enforcement and the company."
According to Raston, Gambaryan was invited to Nigeria in January in his capacity as Binance's head of financial crime compliance. His visit aimed to meet with Nigerian regulators and conduct a training session for members of the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Nigerian regulators invited Gambaryan for a second visit in February. However, upon arrival, Gambaryan and another Binance colleague were detained. While his colleague managed to escape, Gambaryan remains in custody with seemingly little being done about it.
Yuki, Gambaryan's wife, expressed her concerns on the podcast about the lack of urgency from her points of contact at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria. She said someone from the embassy visited her husband but they seemed "out of touch" and failed to understand their sense of urgency. According to Raston, she spoke with a contact at the U.S. State Department who wished to remain anonymous but stated that the department generally refrains from interfering with legal proceedings in other countries. Yuki also mentioned that she had reached out multiple times to U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who went on a Congressional delegation to Nigeria in March but received no response.
John Baker, a former colleague of Gambaryan at the IRS now retired from government service, expressed his surprise on the podcast at the lack of action from U.S authorities regarding Gambaryan's detention given his reputation and connections within various agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. He said he initially believed that Gambaryan's "friends in the various agencies" would work on his behalf, but it appears that many are unaware of his situation.
On March 15, 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. According to a post on the chamber's website, they 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. The Chamber warned that such dubious circumstances set a dangerous precedent for American businessmen abroad, particularly those in the cryptocurrency sector.
Raston serves as host and managing editor of the Click Here podcast, according to Recorded Future News. She has previously worked as a member of NPR's investigations team and hosted the What Were You Thinking podcast.
