Six months. That’s how long Binance’s Tigran Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria under conditions that have rapidly deteriorated both his physical and mental health.
According to Binance CEO Richard Teng, Tigran is in serious pain and unable to walk due to a herniated disc. Despite his dire condition, the Nigerian government has denied him basic medical care, including something as simple as a wheelchair.
What makes this even more alarming is that Tigran’s access to legal counsel has been cut off, even as his trial began on September 2. Richard claims this move is unconstitutional by Nigerian standards, yet the authorities continue to ignore it.
A Nigerian court had previously ordered the government to release Tigran’s medical records, but they’ve been dragging their feet for months. Just this week, they went a step further by denying him access to his US consulate representative.
Flimsy allegations
So, why is Tigran still locked up? According to the Nigerian prosecution, “Binance is operating virtually. The only thing we have to hold on to is this defendant.”
This was the explanation given during a bail hearing where the prosecution argued that Tigran was a flight risk and shouldn’t be granted bail. Richard, however, sees this as nothing but a baseless excuse to hold an innocent employee.
“There is no need to imprison an innocent employee to answer for any allegations against Binance,” Richard said. He pointed out that Binance has resolved issues in various countries—including the US, Thailand, Brazil, and India—without any harm coming to its employees.
Another claim coming out of Nigeria is that Binance is somehow responsible for the decline of the Naira, the country’s currency. This is despite the fact that, between 2021 and the end of 2022, the Naira traded within a relatively narrow range of 380 to 440 Naira per US dollar.
During this period, Richard said Binance offered P2P services as a value-added option for users interested in crypto. But when the Nigerian government decided to end the currency peg in June 2023, the Naira experienced its worst fall in history, dropping from 460 Naira per USD to 900 by the end of that year.
The slide has only continued, with the Naira hitting a low of 1,660 per USD on July 31, a 50% decline since the start of the year. This decline persisted even after Binance stopped offering P2P services in Nigeria in February.
As Richard puts it, currency movements are generally driven by various macroeconomic factors, not by one company’s actions.
Revenue misinterpretation and calls for action
The Binance CEO also felt the need to correct some misconceptions about his company’s financials in Nigeria.
According to him, the Nigerian government has been throwing around a figure of $26 billion in revenue from the country in 2023. In reality, that figure represents total transaction volume, not revenue.
“If someone takes $1,000 and trades it 1,000 times, that’s $1 million in transaction volume,” Richard explained. The actual revenue Binance earns is a tiny percentage of this volume, derived from transaction fees, which Binance prides itself on keeping as low as possible for its users worldwide.
As Tigran’s health and freedom continue to hang in the balance, Richard is urging the US government to step in. He believes the US has the power to label Tigran as one of its “unlawfully detained” citizens abroad, which could put enough pressure on the Nigerian government to release him.
“Tigran is a proud American who should not be subject to such unjust treatment,” Richard said. He also made a broader appeal to the global community, asking people to share their concerns about Tigran’s situation.
Richard warned that actions like this could hurt Nigeria’s long-term economic growth and well-being. He believes the same government officials who decided to detain Tigran without a solid reason could just as easily decide to let him go, especially considering Tigran’s background as a former US federal agent.
