Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive detained for eight months, has disclosed diplomatic negotiations surrounding his release.
He revealed that Bola Tinubu required a statement of appreciation from the U.S. government as a condition for freeing him.
Speaking to Wired, an American bimonthly magazine, Gambaryan said he later learned that the White House, under President Biden, issued a statement commending Tinubu for his release on “humanitarian” grounds—an acknowledgment that was part of the deal securing his freedom.
“The statement of thanks, I later learned, was part of the deal the U.S. government struck with Nigeria, which also included aiding in its investigation of Binance—which is still ongoing,” Wired reported on Monday.
According to sources familiar with the diplomatic negotiations and power dynamics surrounding Mr. Gambaryan’s release, the U.S.-based magazine reported that Mr. Tinubu’s eagerness to meet with President Biden at the United Nations General Assembly played a role in the decision to release Mr. Gambaryan last October.
“Around the same time, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan had a phone call with his Nigerian counterpart, Nuhu Ribadu, in which he essentially asked that Gambaryan be freed, according to multiple sources involved in pushing for Gambaryan’s release,” Wired reported.
It added, “Perhaps most impactful of all, several supporters say, they learned that US officials had made clear that Gambaryan’s case was going to present an obstacle to any meeting between President Biden and Nigeria’s President Tinubu at the UN General Assembly or elsewhere, a notion that deeply troubled the Nigerians.”
Mr. Tinubu’s eagerness to meet with President Biden, as reported by Wired, came just months after Peoples Gazette revealed that the Nigerian president had hired lobbyists in the U.S. to persuade lawmakers and policymakers that he was trustworthy enough to lead Nigeria.
This move followed a reputation-damaging period, which was sparked by allegations of his involvement in drug trafficking and certificate fraud.
Mr. Gambaryan also disclosed how his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, managed to escape Nigeria by scaling a fence while the Nigerian security officers assigned to watch over him were asleep.
He also spoke about his connections with the disgraced police officer Abba Kyari and how Kuje prison officials demanded bribes in the thousands of dollars during his detention.
Recall that Mr. Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were lured into a meeting with National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, only to be detained afterward under accusations that Binance was undermining Nigeria’s currency.
