Joe Biden appreciates the release of the executive of the crypto-exchange Binance in Nigeria

In a phone call with the Nigerian President, the President of the USA, Joe Biden, appreciated the release of the executive of the crypto-exchange Binance, Tigran Gambaryan. 

Joe Biden thanks Nigeria for the release of the executive of the crypto-exchange Binance

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, spoke with the Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, expressing his appreciation for the release of the executive of Binance for humanitarian reasons.

In a note from the White House, the following is read:

“Biden emphasized his appreciation for President Tinubu’s leadership in securing the release on humanitarian grounds of the American citizen and former U.S. law enforcement official Tigran Gambaryan last week.”

Tigran Gambaryan was arrested and held in custody in Nigeria since last February, about eight months ago, until his fateful release on October 23.

During his detention, Gambaryan was repeatedly denied bail, in addition to the fact that he became ill without the possibility of being treated. 

His case has attracted attention as many have suggested that the accusations were directed at Binance rather than its representatives.

Joe Biden and the long-awaited release of the executive of the crypto-exchange Binance  

The phone call from Biden to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, in some way, closes the nightmare experienced by Gambaryan for eight months in the Kuje prison. 

The charges against the Binance executive were initially for tax offenses and money laundering in Nigeria. Unfortunately for him, the various bail hearings have been postponed and denied too many times. 

In the meantime, Gambaryan’s family revealed last May that the Binance executive might have contracted malaria in prison. The family pointed out that despite the suspicion of malaria, Gambaryan was not given the opportunity to go to the hospital. 

In June, however, the case of Gambaryan stirred the federals who took action to request support from the USA government. Over 100 agents and former prosecutors wrote a letter of solicitation to the American State Department to have the detainee released.

The letter revealed that Gambaryan was not only the executive of Binance but had also served for ten years as a special agent of the Internal Revenue Service. During these ten years, Gambaryan had contributed to investigations into important government cases such as child pornography, national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, and other crimes. 

In that month, Gambaryan obtained the withdrawal of tax charges from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria, but still had to appear in court for money laundering. 

The end of Gambaryan’s Nigerian nightmare

After spending the entire summer in jail awaiting his trial, in September, Gambaryan was filmed as he was entering the courtroom, and the video was published on X. 

In the video, he is seen arriving at the Abuja courtroom without a wheelchair, dragging his left leg. In the video, Gambaryan asks the prison guard for help to walk, but the guard refused to assist him. 

Even Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, shared his thoughts on the video showing the conditions of Gambaryan:

https://twitter.com/_RichardTeng/status/1830869029705441553

“This inhuman treatment of Tigran must end. He must be able to return home to receive medical care and be with his family.”

Finally, Gambaryan also had the money laundering charges dropped this month. A spokesperson for the Binance executive’s family reported that he left the country within 24 hours of the dismissal of the final charges to undergo medical treatment in the United States.