Two US Congressmen; Representatives French Hill (Arkansas, Republican) and Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania; Democrat) have visited detained American citizen Tigran Gambaryan at the Kuje Detention facility.
Members of parliament who visited on June 19 2024 then uploaded a video on social media calling for his release.
Hill recounted the visit on his X page on Thursday while describing the condition of the detained executive as deplorable.
In a June 20 post on
He wrote; “Yesterday, @RepHoulahan and I visited US citizen Tigran Gambaryan in Kuje Prison in Nigeria. We discovered he was suffering from a condition there, as he had malaria and double pneumonia, and he reported that he had lost significant weight. What’s worse, he was denied access to adequate medical care.
“While I am pleased that Nigeria dropped tax evasion charges against Tigran on 14/6, in my view he was unlawfully detained on money laundering related charges.
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“Tigran has dedicated his professional life to fighting money laundering and tax evasion, having spent ten years as an IRS Special Agent where he successfully led cybercrime and financial investigations.
Furthermore, at the time of his arrest, he was working as a contract employee at Binance and playing a key role in criminal and compliance investigations in collaboration with Nigerian authorities.
“On 6/4, I joined a letter with@RepMcCormick and 16 other colleagues to @POTUS, @SecBlinken, and @StateSPEHA urging Tigran’s immediate release. Two days later, more than 100 former prosecutors and federal agents wrote to @SecBlinken further urging @StateDept to use all available means to secure his release.
“Tigran should be immediately granted humanitarian release, the remaining charges dropped, and he should return home to America where he belongs.”
Representative Houlahan also conveyed the same thing in a video, “We did find his condition quite difficult… he was clearly experiencing a lot of stress and his health was not very good.”
He continued that he hoped “we will be able to mobilize the full force of America to ensure that he returns home safely.”
By: Babajide Okeowo
After the visit of US lawmakers detaining Binance executive, Gambaryan, in Nigerian prison; push for his release appeared first in Latest Nigerian News | Top News from Ripples Nigeria.