US Foreign Affairs Committee passes resolution demanding Binance exec Tigran Gambaryan's release in Nigeria

Quick Take

  • Tigran Gambaryan, a former agent for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance was detained after arriving in Nigeria in February.
  • The resolution, passed by a voice vote on Thursday, would demand the Nigerian government to release Gambaryan and provide him “unrestricted medical care.”
  • The legislative measure next would go to a full House vote.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a legislative measure demanding the Nigerian government to immediately release Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan as his health continues to worsen in prison.

Gambaryan, a former agent for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and another Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla were detained after arriving in Nigeria in February amid accusations of Binance making illegal transaction profits locally. Criminal charges were filed against them on Feb. 28. Anjarwalla later escaped from custody on March 22.

Gambaryan's family has said his health is quickly declining. They said he is suffering from a herniated disk, has pneumonia and is "mostly bedridden."

H.Res. 1348, which was introduced by Republican Reps. Rich McCormick and French Hill in July, was passed by a voice vote during a hearing on Tuesday. The resolution would demand the Nigerian government to release Gambaryan and provide him "unrestricted medical care," and also requests the U.S. State Department to "use all available assets, all means, to secure his release" and officially declare that Gambaryan is being "wrongfully detained," McCormick said during a hearing on Tuesday.

"Tigran is suffering, not to mention his wife and two young children waiting at home for his return," McCormick said. "This is no way for an American citizen to be treated by custody of a foreign government, especially one that's supposed to be our ally and partner in the region."

McCormick said he would not stop fighting until Gambaryan is home and criticized the Biden administration for not doing enough.

“The Biden administration has not done enough to bring him home so I have been working to move this resolution through Congress in order to help force action,” McCormick said in an emailed statement to The Block.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, top Democrat of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the U.S. government has communicated with the Nigerian government to release Gambaryan and said he was disappointed the country had not responded.

"I know that the State Department is fully engaged in Mr. Gambaryan's case and they are weighing the facts according to their process," Meeks said in support of the resolution. "But regardless of how that process plays out, we must continue to press the Nigerian government."

The resolution will next be brought to the full U.S. House floor when Congress is back in session, which will be after the elections.

Update: Sept. 27, 4:20 p.m. UTC to include comments from McCormick


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About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

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