After languishing in a Nigerian prison to the extreme detriment of his health, Georgia father and former IRS agent Tigran Gambaryan was freed and allowed to return home to his family. This occurred as a group of 18 attorneys general intensified their efforts to secure his release under the Levinson Act.
Gambaryan is back in the U.S. and will require treatment for bouts of malaria, double pneumonia, and complications related to a herniated disc, according to Winston & Strawn, the U.S. law firm instrumental in his release.
The Nigerian government recently dropped money laundering charges against Gambaryan, who was invited to the country in February as vice president of global intelligence and investigations for the crypto exchange Binance. He was imprisoned for at least eight months before his release on Oct. 24. Nigeria had previously dismissed tax evasion charges against this Binance compliance officer in June, according to Federal Newswire.
A celebrated former IRS agent known for cracking high-profile cases, Gambaryan maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal and was often seen as a bargaining chip in a larger battle against Binance. He had been accused of laundering more than $35 million with his British-Kenyan colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager in Africa who traveled to Nigeria with Gambaryan but fled to avoid imprisonment. Both money laundering and tax evasion charges reportedly remain against Binance, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, who rallied 18 attorneys general to press for Gambaryan’s designation as a hostage under the Levinson Act in hopes of expediting his freedom, commented on Nigeria’s actions in an interview with Legal Newsline.
“We are overjoyed that Mr. Gambaryan has been released and that all charges against him have been dropped by the government of Nigeria. There is no ongoing need to designate him under the Levinson Act now that he is home safely with his family, where he belonged for the past eight months of captivity,” Reyes said.
Named for one of the first hostages in the Iranian crisis, the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act was signed into law in 2020. It establishes procedures and entities to address the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens abroad, according to Congress.gov.
In his email interview, Reyes highlighted the need for Gambaryan to address life-threatening health problems stemming from his time in the maximum-security Kuje prison, known for deadly prison breaks and for holding extremists associated with Boko Haram and ISIS. According to Reyes, “He and his family have expressed to me their undying gratitude, and I express my deep appreciation to my fellow state attorneys general and all others who advocated for his release. Our prayers are with him now for a rapid and full recovery from the degradations to his health and dignity over the past year.”
The Oct. 18 letter from the attorneys general to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Gambaryan as very sick and possibly dying, making an “urgent request” to invoke the Levinson Act on his behalf. In the letter, the attorneys general stated, “We honor countless others in the law enforcement community who have sacrificed their lives, health, and time with their families to bring to justice some of the world’s most dangerous criminals. Tigran Gambaryan is one of these heroes in our world.”
The letter described Gambaryan’s life as hanging in the balance and stated, “Swift action is needed before it is too late,” as it was for U.S. student Otto Warmbier, who died in a North Korean prison. There have been several instances over the past year in which Gambaryan has been too frail to stand trial.
In a statement to The Block, Gambaryan's wife, Yuki Gambaryan, said, “We can now focus on healing as a family,” describing it as a “huge relief” after the “living nightmare” of his imprisonment.
Binance CEO Richard Teng also expressed his support on X on Oct. 24, stating, “Tigran’s health and well-being remain our top priority, and we are thankful he can now receive the medical care and rest he urgently needs alongside his family.”
Despite the tough stance in the attorneys general's letter, the U.S. Justice Department, in an Oct. 24 press statement, thanked Nigeria for Gambaryan's release and for facilitating his access to the specialized health care his condition requires. According to the Justice Department, “The positive outcome demonstrates the strength of the U.S.-Nigeria partnership and highlights our shared commitment to working together to advance our common interests. Our close law enforcement cooperation remains a cornerstone of our bilateral relationship, and the United States is committed to working closely with the government of Nigeria to address mutual concerns and prioritize the safety and well-being of our citizens.”
Also commenting on the case, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he personally relayed the good news to Gambaryan’s wife, who led a Change.org petition for his release that garnered nearly 6,000 signatures. In his online statement, Sullivan said, “I am pleased that American citizen and former U.S. law enforcement official Tigran Gambaryan has been released on humanitarian grounds by the Nigerian government and is on his way back to the United States to receive needed medical attention… I am grateful to my Nigerian colleagues and partners for the productive discussions that have resulted in this step, and I look forward to working closely with them on the many areas of cooperation and collaboration critical to the bilateral partnership between our two countries.”
What could have strained the bonds between these cooperating nations has ended peacefully, although the attorneys general accused Nigeria of using Gambaryan as a bargaining chip to pressure Binance. They stated, “This blatant misuse of power is nothing less than extortion, and it must be met with the full weight of the U.S. government’s influence, particularly given America’s financial and political support for the current political regime in Nigeria.”
Throughout his incarceration, many wondered what, if anything, was being done to facilitate Gambaryan’s release, especially amid pressure from elected leaders who, like the attorneys general, urged for Levinson Act classification and noted the deplorable prison conditions during a firsthand visit. Recently, the law firm Winston & Strawn revealed some behind-the-scenes actions they have been involved in since August as pro bono legal counsel for the Armenian Bar Association, which took an active role in securing the release of Gambaryan, an Armenian American.
“Tigran was widely seen as a pawn in the Nigerian government’s efforts to punish Binance for not sharing more information about its customers’ identities and to extract concessions from the company,” the law firm said on its website on Oct. 30. “His release was the culmination of months of pressure from a wide array of stakeholders, including the State Department, members of the United States Congress, former law enforcement colleagues, and the American Bar Association. It confirmed that a Winston team led by New York partner Rich Weber played a key role in convincing the Nigerians to drop the charges.”
Gambaryan’s outstanding record of cracking cases as an IRS investigator was frequently mentioned during his incarceration, creating a twist of irony considering the charges against him. The attorneys general's letter stated that Gambaryan “significantly disrupted networks responsible for drug trafficking, human exploitation, weapons trading, and terrorism financing—criminal activities that directly threatened U.S. national security.”
According to the letter, “His work was instrumental in the takedown of ‘Welcome to Video,’ the largest child pornography ring ever discovered, and the dismantling of dark web marketplaces like AlphaBay and Silk Road.” His contributions were even featured in Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg. As a compliance officer for Binance, Gambaryan focused on aligning the company’s practices with U.S. legal standards and international security priorities. It was these compliance issues that brought him to Nigeria, where the letter stated he was arrested without cause and initially held without formal charges, with his passport confiscated.
Back in June, Georgia Congressman Richard McCormick (R-GA), representing Gambaryan’s home district, joined 16 other members of Congress in urging the U.S. to go beyond its bid for humanitarian release and increase its intervention. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also signed on, describing the treatment of Gambaryan as “excessive and harsh,” according to Federal Newswire on June 6.
“Tigran is my constituent, his wife and two kids. He has received appalling treatment and his rights continually being violated. He was charged for one month,” McCormick had told the Committee of Foreign Affairs on Gambaryan’s behalf.
Despite his medical condition, Gambaryan was denied bail for a second time on Oct. 11, The Block reported. Since his colleague escaped apprehension, he has faced the charges alone, and the court’s decision came despite what his family described as "clear evidence of medical requirement."
As health problems persisted, Gambaryan was unable to attend his court appearance on Oct. 18, The Nigeria Lawyer reported. A representative from Kuje Prison informed the judge that Gambaryan "is very sick, and we will not be able to produce him in court today."
He was freed before a scheduled update before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Oct. 25.
