EXCLUSIVE: How Biden, other U.S. officials pressured Nigeria to release Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan

On 23 October 2024, Nigeria dropped criminal charges against Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive arrested in February 2024 and prosecuted, alongside his company, for money laundering, tax evasion and currency speculation.

In asking the judge, Emeka Nwite, to discontinue Mr Gambaryan’s trial that day, R.U. Adaba, a prosecutor from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), hinted that the charges against the American were being withdrawn for “some critical international and diplomatic reasons”.

The lawyer did not provide details. However, she cited Mr Gambaryan’s worsening health in custody as the main reason for dropping the charges. On being freed from the Kuje Correctional Centre that same day, American officials in Nigeria immediately arranged an emergency flight, which hurriedly flew the Binance official to the US.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the 23 October court hearing leading to the Binance official’s freedom followed months of intense, behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations between Nigerian and US government officials. Some high-level and reliable sources confided in some of our reporters that in the weeks leading up to the hearing, some top American officials, including then-President Joe Biden, intensely campaigned for the release of Mr Gambaryan, engaging relevant Nigerian authorities through letters, frantic telephone calls, and a flurry of online meetings. A deal was then hammered out.

When we initially received that information, details were sketchy. Officials contacted on both sides insisted the talks and agreements reached were confidential. But following months of interviews with sources familiar with the matter and a review of documents, PREMIUM TIMES can now report with more clarity the back-channel diplomatic pressures that pushed Nigeria into suddenly freeing Mr Gambaryan, a highly-prized suspect whose bail application it fiercely opposed for months.

Mr Gambaryan, Binance Holdings Limited’s head of financial crime compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the crypto exchange platform’s Africa regional manager, were detained on 26 February 2024 for failing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies investigating how crypto exchange firms, including Binance, were sabotaging the Nigerian economy and causing the West African nation substantial financial loss.

Nigeria said Binance conducted $21.6 billion worth of transactions within its territory in 2023 alone. In a briefing document seen by this newspaper, it said that despite this, the company disregarded Nigerian law by failing to comply with a court order mandating it to release critical data to authorities. “By refusing to cooperate with Nigerian authorities, the platform has not only evaded its tax obligations but has also raised significant concerns about its potential in facilitating illicit financial activities,” the document said. “The implications of such activities directly threaten Nigeria’s financial integrity and national security.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) then filed two separate cases against the executives and their company. Authorities described the action as crucial for local regulatory compliance and key to Nigeria’s broader efforts to combat financial crimes, safeguard its economic interests, and prevent the misuse of digital platforms for terrorism financing and money laundering.

But no sooner had Nigeria commenced the prosecution of the suspects than the US government began to pile pressure on Nigerian authorities to release Mr Gambaryan, described as a former agent with the American secret service. That pressure was initially spearheaded by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., who sent a note to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding expedited release of Mr Gambaryan from detention on humanitarian grounds.

The ambassador also repeatedly engaged the Office of the Nigerian National Security Adviser (NSA), officials at the Ministry of Finance and the presidency. “It didn’t matter to the ambassador that Gambaryan and his employers were being tried for several crimes, including tax evasion and money laundering,” an official familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES. “They just wanted us to let him go just because he is an American citizen. They showed no regard for our country’s legal processes.”

With Nigeria standing its ground and insisting the Binance official must complete his trial, the US Embassy in Nigeria escalated the matter to Washington, DC. Several US officials then became involved.

At a meeting in the American capital in May 2024, the then US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, raised the matter with his Nigerian counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar. In late April, the Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campell tabled the matter in a meeting with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Other US officials who reportedly engaged Mr Ribadu on Mr Gambaryan’s detention were his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan; Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Molly Phee; and Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Christopher Wray, who travelled to Nigeria 12-14 June 2024 to discuss the matter. Mr Wray also met Nigerian President Bola Tinubu during his visit but PREMIUM TIMES could not determine if he discussed the Binance official’s case with the President.

As officials in the executive arm of the US government badgered Nigeria to free Mr Gambaryan, so were the country’s lawmakers. On 4 June 2024, a group of US lawmakers wrote President Joe Biden, Mr Blinken, and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Roger D. Carstens, asking them to work for Mr Gambaryan’s freedom. In the well-publicised letter, the members of Congress urged US authorities to treat Mr Gambaryan’s case as a hostage situation and bring him back home without delay.

Seven days later, on 21 June, two federal lawmakers, French Hill and Chrissy Houlahan, travelled to Nigeria to discuss with officials and visit Mr Gambaryan in detention. On 10 July, members of Congress Richard McCormick and French Hill tabled a resolution in plenary asking Nigeria to immediately release the Binance official and urging the American government “to utilise all resources available” to secure Mr Gambaryan’s release.

Still, Nigeria did not bulge. In communication with their American counterparts, Nigerian officials demanded respect for Nigeria as a sovereign country with its own laws. They also rejected the suggestion by US lawmakers and executive branch officials that Mr Gambaryan was being held or treated as a hostage. “He (Mr Gambaryan) and his company offered financial services without the necessary licences, conducted operations without the required permits, failed or refused to comply with the Money Laundering Act and provided speculative services without any proper authorisation,” an official wrote in one exchange seen by PREMIUM TIMES. “It is worthy of observation that Gambaryan is being legally held in the country, not as a hostage but for various crimes committed by him and his company.”

To underscore its seriousness to see Mr Gambaryan’s trial to a logical conclusion, Nigeria instructed its prosecutor to oppose the Binance official’s second bid for bail forcefully. The judge, Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, had denied the American bail in May 2024, judging him as a flight risk. Mr Gambaryan’s challenge of that ruling was still pending at the Court of Appeal when he, on 11 October, tabled a fresh bail application. The prosecution opposed the application, and the court dismissed it because it constituted an abuse of court process.

The judge said Mr Gambaryan’s request could not be granted while still challenging the earlier bail ruling at the Court of Appeal. Justice Nwite also added that the American failed to convince the court that the Nigerian Correctional Service did not have adequate facilities for his healthcare. The court then adjourned the matter till 18 October, 22 November and 25 November for the continuation of the trial.

That was not the outcome America expected from that 11 October hearing, which signalled Nigeria’s determination to enforce its laws rather than buckle under pressure. What happened in court that day showed Nigeria meant business. America then decided to put its foot forward and negotiate in a more conciliatory manner. The second part of this report will cover what happened next and how both countries struck the deal that culminated in the dropping of charges against the Binance official.

READ THE CONCLUDING PART OF THIS REPORT HERE