Binance, a leading player in the crypto sphere, has exonerated its detained executive, Tigran Gambaryan, from any responsibility regarding the company’s conflicts with Nigeria, advocating for his immediate release.
In an emotional appeal to the Federal Government, Mrs. Yuli Gambaryan, the wife of Gambaryan, has implored authorities to set her husband free, citing the unbearable challenges their family has faced since his arrest.
Mrs. Gambaryan’s open letter, obtained by Africa Today News, New York, underscores her husband’s profound respect for Nigeria and his steadfast commitment to upholding the country’s integrity, refuting any allegations of wrongdoing.
The letter reads: “My name is Yuki Gambaryan, and I am pleading with you from the bottom of my heart as the wife of Tigran Gambaryan to please allow my innocent husband to come home.
“Tigran is first and foremost an incredible father, loving husband, and supportive friend to everyone who meets him. He has a deep respect for Nigeria and its people, and in fact, he had expressed excitement to me at the prospect of starting to work in your country.
“I understand and respect your decision to scrutinize his employer, Binance. I realize that this whole situation has arisen from your commitment to your country and its citizens. However, Tigran is merely an employee.
“He does not have authority over Binance’s corporate decisions or policies that might have impacted Nigeria. He spends his workday investigating and pursuing criminal activity on the platform. His very job is to help governments, like yours, prosecute and prevent illicit activity. Sadly, any influence he might have had at Binance to help the company leaders understand your position in this disagreement is trapped in that cell with him.
“Tigran is globally recognized for his significant contributions in solving crimes involving cryptocurrencies. I know many of his peers, including in Nigeria, would say that Tigran’s continuous efforts not only decrease illicit activity on Binance’s platform but for all cryptocurrencies across the world.”
The company elaborated that he had worked as a U.S. Federal Agent for more than ten years, focusing on investigating various issues such as national security, terrorism financing, identity theft, the distribution of child pornography, tax evasion, and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
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Official statement from Binance said: “As part of the elite cyber investigations team in the U.S. Treasury Department’s IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) unit, Tigran led several multi-billion dollar investigations, including the Silk Road corruption investigations, BTC-e bitcoin exchange, and the Mt. Gox hack.
“He also played a pivotal role in probing Alphabay, Welcome2Video, and the high-profile “VIP” Twitter hack, working alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the United States Secret Service. Tigran later assumed the role of the IRS-CI representative at the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF), focusing on national security and terrorism financing.
“Tigran is so well known as the world’s preeminent cyber crimes investigator that a book, Tracer’s in the Dark, was written about his efforts to bring down some of history’s most notorious cyber criminals.
“Given this background, Tigran was hired in 2021 to help Binance fix past compliance issues. As the head of Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team, he has been a strong advocate for Binance to develop policies and build compliance capabilities that set new industry standards”. The statement said in 2022 and 2023, Tigran’s Financial Crime Compliance team assisted global law enforcement in freezing and seizing more than $2.2B worth of assets, including more than $285M in cooperation with United States Agencies like the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and others.”
compliance issues. As the head of Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) team, he has been a strong advocate for Binance to develop policies and build compliance capabilities that set new industry standards”.
According to the statement, Tigran’s Financial Crime Compliance team made significant contributions to global law enforcement efforts during the years 2022 and 2023, resulting in the freezing and seizure of assets valued at more than $2.2 billion, with a notable portion exceeding $285 million achieved through collaboration with major U.S. agencies such as the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and others.