Binance CEO Rallies for Imprisoned Executive’s Release

As Gambaryan’s health worsen daily, Binance CEO Richard Teng stated the business has continued investigating every legal and political option to bring him home.

As Tigran Gambaryan’s health deteriorates daily, Binance CEO Richard Teng claims his staff has been working “across the clock” to get the executive back to the United States.

“We have appealed to the Nigerian government repeatedly to release Tigran […] so that he can go home and get the proper medical treatment that he needs.”

We don’t need to keep our workers on hand. Teng spoke to on September 19 at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, “He’s held unjustly, unfairly.”

Binance CEO, Teng stated, “It is upsetting for all of us, “particularly for the families. Here at Binance, this is our first concern. We have an internal task group active around the clock, exploring all political and legal options.

To expedite that process, Binance CEO expects that the US will declare Gambaryan under wrongful detention. He said Binance has also tried to persuade the Nigerian authorities to free Tigran for humanitarian reasons.

According to Teng, Gambaryan has twice contracted pneumonia and malaria since being imprisoned in Nigeria. In May, he even unexpectedly collapsed during an appearance in court due to his deteriorating health.

“He can’t walk properly and he’s not getting the proper medical treatment.”

The Nigerian authorities requested Gambaryan, who leads the cryptocurrency exchange’s financial crime compliance department, to visit the country on February 26 to discuss Binance’s compliance problems.

However, Gambaryan was detained by Nigerian authorities following two encounters that were regarded as professional at first but turned progressively confrontational. Currently residing in Nigeria’s “notorious” Kuje Prison—a notorious prison with horrific conditions—is the Binance executive.

In June, he got backing from twelve US lawmakers who urged President Joe Biden, Secretary Antony Blinken, and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens to give Gambaryan’s petition more importance.

On September 18, Knarik Gambaryan, the mother of Gambaryan, also urged US officials to step up their efforts.

Politicians in the US say Gambaryan was accused of several “baseless” offenses, including tax evasion and money laundering, as part of a plot by Nigerian authorities to use force to extract money from Binance.

Even though Binance CEO, Teng believes that Gambaryan should come first, he nevertheless believes that Binance can help Nigeria’s economy grow in the future.

Approximately 32% of transactions made by Nigerians go through Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, according to a CoinGecko study from November 2023 that used Statistica data.

Some popular trading platforms in the nation are NairaEx, KuCoin, and Bybit.

In terms of cryptocurrency usage, Nigeria comes in second place globally, according to a September 11 Chainalysis report.