Rich McCormick, a member of the US Congress, has submitted a resolution to the Congress urging the release of Tigran Gambaryan, the arrested Binance executive, by the Nigerian government.
According to the resolution submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 10th, 2024, McCormick urged the US to “utilise all resources available to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan, and to raise the case of Tigran and press for his immediate release in all interactions with the Government of Nigeria.”
The resolution also urges the Nigerian government to provide “unfettered and consistent consular access, in accordance with its international obligations, to Tigran Gambaryan while he remains in detention.”
The resolution urges the following:
(1) urges the government of Nigeria to immediately release Tigran Gambaryan from imprisonment;
(2) urges the United States Government to utilise all resources available to secure the release of Tigran Gambaryan and to raise the case of Tigran and press for his immediate release in all interactions with the Government of Nigeria;
(3) urges the United States Government to formally declare Tigran Gambaryan as a “U.S. citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government” pursuant to Section 302(a) of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741(a));
(4) urges the Government of Nigeria to provide full, unfettered, and consistent consular access, in accordance with its international obligations, to Tigran Gambaryan while he remains in detention;
(5) urges the Government of Nigeria to provide unrestricted medical access to Tigran Gambaryan and ensure he is swiftly provided all medical care, including prescriptions and antimalarials, as needed;
(6) calls on the Government of Nigeria to provide Tigran Gambaryan and all other political prisoners their constitutionally afforded due process rights and universally recognised human rights; and
(7) expresses sympathy for and solidarity with Tigran Gambaryan’s wife, Yuki Gambaryan, his entire family, and all other citizens of the United States and lawful permanent residents wrongfully detained abroad for the personal hardship experienced as a result of the arbitrary and baseless arrest and detention of their loved ones.
He and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were detained by the Nigerian authorities on February 28.
Although Anjarwalla escaped from the custody of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), both executives, alongside Binance, were charged by the federal government for tax evasion and money laundering.
On March 25, FIRS filed a criminal charge against Binance for “tax evasion.”.
According to the service, the move was to uphold fiscal responsibility and safeguard the economic integrity of the country.
The lawsuit, designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, was said to “implicate Binance with a four-count tax evasion accusation.”.
On May 17, the FIRS filed an amended four-count charge against Binance Holdings Limited and its executive, Gambaryan, for alleged tax evasion.
