US authorities pressure Nigeria to release detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan

The U.S. government is urging Nigerian officials to release Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, whose lawyers are pressuring the State Department to characterize Gambaryan as "wrongly detained," according to two senior State Department officials. Gambaryan was arrested in Nigeria in February, seven months after he was arrested, and is now facing serious health problems in prison. The detention has become an important factor affecting diplomatic relations between the United States and Nigeria. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken communicated with Nigeria's foreign minister on the matter in May. Other U.S. diplomats, including the ambassador to Nigeria, have also privately called on Nigeria's president, finance minister, justice minister and trade minister to release Gambaryan. Gambaryan arrived in Nigeria in February to hold talks with local officials about Binance's business in the country. Nigerian authorities accused Binance of causing the naira exchange rate to collapse and thus hurting the Nigerian economy by allowing users to transfer funds out of the local currency, the naira. Authorities charged Gambaryan and Binance with tax evasion and money laundering. The tax charges have been dropped, but other charges remain. Gambaryan appeared in court last week to apply for bail to seek treatment. If granted, he will be released when his trial begins in October. He denies all wrongdoing. (The Block)