The crypto employee has been detained in the African nation since February of this year.
Former Chief of Investigations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Richard Weber, provided insight into the appalling conditions Nigerian Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan is subjected to while incarcerated in that African nation.
According to an October 3 podcast episode of Illicit Edge’s “Designated,” Weber said Gambaryan’s detainment at Kuje prison had been anything but ideal, with the crypto compliance chief behind bars alongside “the worst of the worst” terrorists.
Tigran Gambaryan Is A Hostage, Richard Weber Says
“It’s a prison that hold really bad people, including terrorists, and here we have a former law enforcement official and dedicated public servant who is working at a crypto company as a mid-level employee…who is trying to resolve a compliance issue – who then gets arrested and thrown into the same facility,” Weber said.
Then, the ex-top law enforcement official in the United States pleaded with the government to free Gambaryan so that he could return to California with his wife Yuki and their two small children.
“Tigran is a hostage. He did nothing wrong. He is sitting in a prison for a crime he did not commit,” Weber continued. “He’s been in prison for over 200 days – almost eight months – and no one knows what he really did wrong. I don’t even think the Nigerian government knows what he did wrong, and yet they are holding him there.”
After visiting the African country to discuss policy pertaining to digital assets, Gambaryan was placed under arrest towards the end of February 2024. It is said that he had prior assurances of safe entry and exit from the nation.
The crypto community has questioned the validity of Gambaryan’s arrest following his incarceration on tax evasion and money laundering charges; U.S. lawmaker French Hill (R-AR) called Gambaryan a “pawn in a Nigerian political fight.”
Wife Of Detained Binance Executive Speaks Out
The Binance executive has experienced a substantial decline in health since his initial incarceration due to a combination of malaria and double pneumonia.
Video from a court hearing in Abuja early in September shows Gambryan having difficulty walking due to complications resulting from a herniated disc.
In the video, Gambaryan sobbed, “I am not okay.” “Why couldn’t I use a goddamn wheelchair? This is a show. I’m innocent—why are you doing this to me?”
Weber’s remarks follow Yuki Gambaryan’s call for her husband’s release in the previous episode of “Designated.”
“What Tigran is going through every day is a complete disregard for justice and humanity and it should not be tolerated,” Ms. Gambaryan said. “…It is getting harder and harder to stay hopeful.”