Detained Binance executive’s wife protests continued detention of husband, seeks US intervention

Mrs Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of the detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan is protesting  what she called the indefinite and ‘unlawful’ detention of her husband by Nigerian government.

Yuki who is claiming that her husband committed no crime has prevailed on US Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who led a delegation to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday at the State House, to intervene in Gambaryan’s release.

BAR & BENCH WATCH reports that in February, this year, Tigran Gambaryan, a US citizen and head of financial crime compliance at Binance, and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained by the Nigerian authorities for financial and other related offences.

However, Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped legal custody on March 22, 2024.

But Tigran is still held in custody while a formal charge had been preferred against him and his fleeing colleague, Nadeem.

But in what appears an attack by Tigran’s wife against Nigerian government, she is contending that the plight of her husband was unacceptable.

“For more than 30 days, the Nigerian government held my husband without charging him with any crime.

“Then, they charged him with being responsible for the unsubstantiated actions of his employer rather than having negotiations with the company in a manner in line with international norms.

“Simply put, my husband is being held as blackmail. As these members of Congress are travelling across Nigeria, I am calling on them to push the Nigerians to release Tigran and continue their investigation directly with Binance through appropriate channels”, she stated.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government said it had launched a manhunt for Anjarwalla.

On Thursday, Gambaryan dragged the Nigerian National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, to court over alleged abuse of fundamental human rights.

The development comes days after the Nigerian government filed criminal charges against Binance with Anjarwalla and Gambaryan.