House Republicans demand return of crypto executive detained by Nigerian government

A group of House Republicans are urging the White House to begin the process of negotiating the return of an American crypto executive who they say is being held hostage by the Nigerian government.

The sixteen members of Congress, including Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), penned a letter Tuesday to President Biden and State Department officials, including Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, asking the Biden Administration to repatriate Tigran Gambaryan, an executive at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Gambaryan serves as Binance’s head of financial crimes compliance and traveled to Nigeria in February for a meeting with Nigerian government officials to discuss the exchange’s compliance issues within the country.

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Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen who lives with his family in Georgia, was subsequently stripped of his passport and arrested by Nigerian government officials and is now being detained on charges of tax evasion, providing financial services without a license and money laundering in Kuje prison near the Nigerian capital of Abuja. The prison is notorious for its harsh conditions and for incarcerating ISIS militants.

The charges, the letter says, are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic to extort his employer, Binance, which the Nigerian government believes is responsible for the rapid decline in its currency valuation.

Nigeria is facing an economic crisis due in part to soaring inflation which caused its national currency, the naira, to hit a record low against the dollar in February, days before Gambaryan’s meeting with Nigerian officials. The depreciated foreign exchange rate has resulted in many Nigerians turning to cryptocurrency, specifically so-called stablecoins, which are pegged to the dollar and can be purchased on Binance's platform.

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The sixteen lawmakers say Gambaryan’s position qualifies him as a wrongfully detained U.S. citizen under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, a law created in 2019 that helps the U.S. government bring back Americans who have been taken hostage in foreign countries.

"I call on the Biden administration to promptly declare Tigran Gambaryan as wrongfully detained and urge the Nigerian government to release him immediately," McCaul said in a statement to FOX Business. "Mr. Gambaryan was invited to Nigeria by the Nigerian government, has done nothing wrong, and should be returned home to his family."

In addition to Tuesday’s letter from lawmakers, FOX Business has learned that a subsequent plea letter from a group of former DOJ officials and national security personnel could be sent to the White House as soon as this week. The contents of the letter and the names of its underwriters are presently unclear.

McCaul’s letter describes the details surrounding Gambaryan’s case as "deeply disturbing" and his detainment "marked by excessive and harsh treatment" by Nigerian prison officials who are refusing him access to adequate medical treatment for a case of malaria he allegedly contracted while in prison.

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The letter reports a situation where Gambaryan collapsed during a May 23 court appearance, prompting court officials to arrange for a transfer to a private hospital for treatment.

Malaria, a tropical disease transmitted through mosquito bites, can lead to kidney failure and be fatal if untreated.

A spokeswoman for Gambaryan’s family tells FOX Business Gambaryan is now back in prison following a brief hospital visit, his health deteriorating rapidly due to poor treatment.

"It has been 100 days since my husband, Tigran, was taken hostage by the Nigerian government. Despite my relentless efforts to bring him home, the fight has been long and difficult. Today, however, it feels like my plea for help may finally be heard by the US government.," Gambaryan's wife, Yuki Gambaryan, said through a spokeswoman. "I do hope more members will show their support for Tigran as well and urge the government to take immediate action to bring an innocent American citizen home to his children."

Although Gambaryan is both a U.S. citizen and a former employee of the federal government who worked at the Internal Revenue Service for over ten years, the Biden administration has not yet addressed his situation publicly.

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Critics point to the haste with which the administration moved to declare WNBA player Brittney Griner a wrongfully detained citizen and organize her release from a Russian prison in December 2022. Griner had been sentenced by a Russian court to nine years behind bars on smuggling charges when Russian customs officials discovered she was carrying medically prescribed cannabis oil in her luggage.

Griner was released in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout and was later honored at the annual White House Correspondents dinner in D.C. where she met President Biden, who told her he was a big fan of hers.

The State Department said in a statement to FOX Business: 

"As a general matter, we do not comment on congressional correspondence. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. The Department is in regular communication with Mr. Gambaryan, his family, and his lawyers, and is providing all appropriate assistance. We will continue to monitor Tigran Gambaryan’s case closely."

Tuesday’s letter from House members cites what they call Gambaryan’s "impressive and distinguished" background in illicit finance enforcement, cracking down on the illegal movement of money between criminal organizations. The letter notes Gambaryan’s role in seizing $4.725 billion in illicit funds for the U.S. government during his tenure as an IRS agent and his recognition by the DOJ last month for his work on a recent money laundering investigation involving the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.

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It’s unclear why the White House has so far been reluctant to come to Gambaryan’s aid, but some in the crypto industry say the administration’s animosity towards the $2 trillion digital assets market, and Binance’s past legal issues, may be playing a part.

In November, the Department of Justice announced that Binance and its then CEO Changpeng Zhao pled guilty to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and Zhao agreed to step down as CEO.

Zhao began his 4-month prison sentence in a California federal jail on Monday following an April sentencing hearing. 

Meanwhile, the crypto industry faces numerous enforcement actions from the Securities and Exchange Commission and its Chairman Gary Gensler, who believes the industry at large is out of compliance with U.S. securities laws and, he says, is rife with "hucksters, fraudsters and scam artists."

The Nigerian government has also accused Binance of money laundering. Last year, Nigeria’s central bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said $26 billion of untraceable funds moved out of Nigeria via Binance’s platform.