Mrs Yuki Gambaryan, wife of the detained American citizen, Tigran Gambaryan, who was arrested alongside another staff of Binance Holdings, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, has appealed to the Nigerian government to release of husband, insisting he was innocent of all the charges preferred against him.
Yuki also called on the United States government to take decisive action in the case to ensure the release of her husband.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja remanded the Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, in Kuje Correctional Centre, pending the determination of his bail application.
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the remand order after Gambaryan pleaded not guilty to the money laundering charges preferred against him by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Nigerian government had taken Binance Holdings Limited and its two officials, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla (now at large) to court on allegations bordering on tax evasion and money laundering.
SaharaReporters had reported that Gambaryan’s colleague, Anjarwalla escaped from the custody of Nigerian authorities three weeks ago.
However, speaking to journalists, Gambaryan’s wife Yuki said she could not believe her nightmare that her ‘innocent’ husband was sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers.
She called on International Businesses to be very careful of doing anything in Nigeria, adding that their employees could suddenly be held hostage by the Nigerian government and treated like criminals for no reason.
According to her, her husband, who is just an employee of Binance Holdings came to Nigeria on invitation of Nigeria government, wondering why he should be held hostage for honouring their invitation.
Yuki said that she was heartbroken seeing the condition her husband had been subjected despite having dedicated his life to law enforcement and justice and became a world renowned expert on these topics.
The Nigerian government themselves trusted and relied on him, she revealed, to the extent that in 2023, he not only ensured the retrieval of $400,000 for Nigeria but also helped to train the very same Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that is now holding him.
She regretted that it took the EFCC over 4 weeks to come up with the charges and to date, no evidence has ever been provided of how Tigran could be responsible for what he is being falsely accused of. After the court order to detain Tigran and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla expired on March 12th, both of them were being held arbitrarily and unlawfully by the Nigerian authorities. The Nigerian Chief Magistrate confirmed that their detention after March 12th was unlawful at a hearing on April 5th.
This is the second time Tigran has had to appear in court to face charges however, the first set of charges by the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria (FIRS) were not correctly served and so another hearing for those charges has been rescheduled for April 19th. His bail hearing for these charges has been scheduled for April 18th.
Tigran Gambaryan is not an officer of Binance, the company he is employed by, and for which he traveled to Nigeria on February 25th for meetings at the invitation of the Nigerian authorities. He and Nadeem had been invited by the Nigerian NSA (National Security Adviser), EFCC, and others to discuss issues relating to law enforcement cooperation, licensing, and compliance.
Whilst in EFCC detention, U.S. Embassy staff were not granted access to visit him and he had very limited access to his legal team. Through the very short conversations he has been able to have with his wife, he is clearly very distressed and under immense pressure.
Calling for his immediate release, Yuki said: “I cannot believe our nightmare has gotten worse. I am beyond heartbroken that my innocent husband is being sent to a prison that houses known terrorists and murderers. I am devastated that he is being held in increasingly worse conditions simply because he accepted an invitation for a meeting with the Nigerian government over a month ago.
“He is clearly a scapegoat for whatever problems they are facing and it is beyond unacceptable that this is how they are treating a completely innocent man. International businesses should be very careful of doing anything in Nigeria as their employees could suddenly be held hostage by the Nigerian government and treated like criminals for no reason.
“My husband has dedicated his life to law enforcement and justice and became a world renowned expert on these topics. The Nigerian government themselves trusted and relied on him. In fact, last year, his efforts not only ensured the retrieval of $400,000 for Nigeria but Tigran also helped to train the very same EFCC that is now holding him.
“I am begging the American government to do anything to get Tigran out and I am imploring the Nigerian government to realise that they are holding a completely innocent man. They can still do the right thing and release him whilst they negotiate with the actual decision-makers at Binance for a solution to the issues which they are facing. Please, my children just want their dad home and I just want my amazing husband back.”
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