Yuki Gambaryan, wife of the detained Binance Holdings Limited executive, Tigran Gambaryan has called on the Nigerian government release her husband without further delay.
Yuki, who made the appeal in a statement on Thursday following the commencement of the cross-examination of the witness from SEC at the court in Abuja, asked why the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), cannot dropped the charges against her husband and follow the lead of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Yuki Gambaryan also restated her earlier call on the United States government to intervene “more forcefully” to pressure the Nigerian government to release him.
Mr Gambaryan, held in a court-ordered detention in Abuja, is standing trial on money laundering charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the Nigeria’s capital city.
Bellnews reported that Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested and detained on February 26 following an investigation into Binance’s activities in Nigeria.
Subsequently, the EFCC, Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency charged Gambaryan, his company, Binance Holdings Limited and Anjarwalla, a fellow top executive currently on the run before a Federal High Court sitting for money laundering and terrorism financing.
He was arraigned on Monday, April 8, on five counts bordering on alleged tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering to the tune of $34,400,000. Following the escape of his colleague, Anjarwalla, the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, refused to grant his bail application on May 17, 2024.
Bellnews reported on May 1, 2024 that Yuki raised the alarm that the Nigerian government was keeping her husband in Kuje Prison together with Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.
Yuki told the United States Parliament that her husband had spent 65 days in custody in Nigeria.
But in a statement following the resumption of trial, Yuki said: “Since the FIRS charges were dropped last week and they agreed to serve those charges solely on Binance, I do not see why the EFCC cannot do the same. It is time for the Nigerian authorities to do the right thing and let my innocent husband go.
“I am also once again calling on the US government to intervene more forcefully. Tigran’s and my own tax dollars get sent to Nigeria in aid every year.
“Nigeria is supposed to be an ally. I refuse to believe that our State Department cannot do more to have an innocent American citizen released.”
Bellnews also recently reported that 16 US lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden asking him to bring back Gambaryan.
Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, along with 15 other leaders, in a letter sent to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens, dated Tuesday, 4th June 2024, demanded an immediate action.
In the letter, they urged the president to treat Gambaryan’s case as a hostage situation and bring him back to the U.S.
Gambaryan is a U.S. citizen and Binance’s head of compliance.
“We fear for his life. Immediate action is essential to ensure his safety and preserve his life. We must act swiftly before it is too late,” they said.
In the letter which Eleanor Terrett shared on her X handle @EleanorTerrett, the lawmakers claimed that Gambaryan had contracted malaria and was being denied adequate treatment by Nigerian prison officials.
The letter partly read: “As you know, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and former federal agent, is being wrongfully detained by the Nigerian government. Mr. Gambaryan’s background is impressive and distinguished.
“He served at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for over ten years before joining the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, where he is the Head of Financial Crime Compliance.”