According to reports, a number of US lawmakers have reached out to President Joe Biden and the hostage affairs unit in an attempt to free Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan, who has been in detention in Nigeria for nearly three months due to accusations of tax fraud and money laundering.

Lawmakers’ Urgent Appeal

Twelve U.S. politicians underlined in a June 4 letter directed to President Biden, Secretary Antony Blinken, and the Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Roger D. Carstens, that Gambaryan is still “wrongly detained” by the Nigerian government and that action must be taken now before the situation gets worse.

“We dread for his life. His safety and the preservation of his life depend on a quick response. We have to move fast before it is too late.” Eleanor Terrett, a Fox Business reporter, released a letter on X stating that U.S. legislators specifically want the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs to address Gambaryan’s matter.

Signed largely by Congress members, the letter pointed out that Gambaryan had been accused of many “baseless” offenses, including tax fraud and money laundering, which they said were part of a coercive strategy by Nigerian officials meant to extract Binance.

Background and Current Situation

The head of financial crime compliance for the bitcoin exchange, Gambaryan, visited Nigeria on February 26 after receiving an invitation from the Nigerian authorities to discuss Binance’s compliance concerns there. But following two meetings—which were said to be first professional and then progressively hostile—Nigerian officials imprisoned Gambaryan.

The Binance executive is currently housed in Nigeria’s “notorious” Kuje Prison, known for its terrible conditions. U.S. officials reported that he has been “forging his life inside a prison cell meant to hold ISIS fighters.”

Since then, Gambaryan has tested positive for malaria; U.S. legislators claim they have not implemented a court order to take him to a private hospital for treatment.

May 18 saw Gambaryan refuse bail. Four days later, on May 22, Gambaryan skipped a planned court appearance. Neither the court, the prosecution, nor the defense team knew his location or state of health.

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Politicians in the United States said Gambaryan was there the next day when the court met. Still, his physical condition had clearly changed, as they noted.

“Mr. Gambaryan could not stand on his own when asked to step forward by the judge and finally collapsed to the floor.” The U.S. officials also said that Gambaryan has not been allowed to meet his legal team without armed guards and Nigerian authorities present.

Gambaryan spent eleven years working as a federal agent at the Internal Revenue Service before joining Binance.