American legislators Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) and French Hill (R-Ark.) paid Tigran Gambaryan a visit on Wednesday when he was detained in Nigeria on allegations of money laundering related to his involvement with the cryptocurrency exchange. With a visit to the nation to talk about counterterrorism measures, “we also had the opportunity to advocate for an American that has been wrongfully detained by the Nigerian government in the horrible prison that we got to go see, that’s called Kuje prison,” according to a video that Hill uploaded to his X account on Thursday.
According to Hill, Gambaryan, who has been detained since coming in February for negotiations with the government, has double pneumonia and malaria. According to Hill, the CEO claimed to have lost a lot of weight and to not be able to get proper medical care.
Gambaryan was transferred to the prison, which houses members of the terrorist organisation Boko Haram, not long after he was arrested. He was joined by another executive from Binance, who has since escaped. According to reports, Gambaryan is requesting payment for his extended incarceration.
“A task group in Congress is investigating American nationals who are wrongfully imprisoned overseas or held as hostages. Tigran definitely belongs in that camp, in our opinion,” Hill stated in the clip. “We want him home and we can let Binance, his employer, deal with the Nigerians.” In light of the “horrible conditions in the prison, his innocence, and his health,” Hill continued, he had asked the American embassy to support Gambaryan’s humanitarian release. In a letter to President Joe Biden dated June 4, Hill was one of the signatories pleading with him to push for Gambaryan’s release. Hill added that more than a hundred former prosecutors echoed this statement in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken two days later.
A letter to President Joe Biden on June 4th, in which Hill signed, urged the latter to work towards Gambaryan’s release. Over a hundred former prosecutors echoed this statement in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken two days later, according to Hill. In the interim, the trial goes on. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission witness’s cross-examination started yesterday. Even now, the case is ongoing.