The US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a legislative measure demanding the release of detained Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan in Nigeria over concerns over his health.

The legislative measure by the US house Foreign affairs adds to the list of United States authorities ramping up the pressure on the Nigerian Government to release Tigran Gambaryan who has now spent 7 months in detention in Nigeria.

The legislative measure H.Res. 1348, which was introduced by Republican Reps. Rich McCormick and French Hill in July, was passed by a voice note during a hearing on Tuesday.

The resolution by the two congressmen would demand the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan and provide him unrestricted medical care.

The resolution also requested 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 said McCormick 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 added.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, top Democrat of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented on the resolution raised in congress stating that the US government has earlier acted on the issue.

He said the U.S. government has communicated with the Nigerian government to release Gambaryan he was disappointed that the country had not responded since then.

“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.” 

Back story  

Tigran Gambaryan, a former agent for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, and Nardeem Anjarwalla another Binance executive based in Kenya were detained by the Nigerian authorities upon their arrival to Nigeria to honour an invitation.

Nardeem Anjarwalla a British Kenyan Citizen managed to escape custody using a second passport but Tigran Gambaryan has been stuck in Nigeria for 7 months now.

Nigerian authorities accuse Binance limited of Money Laundering and Tax evasion and both entities have been in and out of court since the meeting between the two parties in February.

US authorities and family members of Tigran Gambaryan have campaigned for his release citing growing medical concerns and a herniated disk problem which has been part of his medical history.

Nigerian authorities in response to such claims claim that his health conditions are over exaggerated and are not life threatening.

What to Know  

• Binance have been accused by various jurisdictions of money laundering and failing to comply with existing financial regulatory frameworks. The exchange which is also the biggest exchange in the world has run into spats with India, Brazil, Nigeria and even the United States.
• Binance in response to its numerous frictions with various countries in ramping up its workforce especially in areas of compliance.