Wired’s article revealed text messages sent by Binance exec Tigran Gambaryan from Nigerian Prison during his 8-month detainment.
Through text messages sent from a prison facility in Kuje, Nigeria, Gambaryan described his condition to journalist Andy Greenberg. He said that he was “essentially crippled” after his health took a turn for the worse.
The Binance exec had grown weaker due to the horrible circumstances he faced in prison, as he suffered from a 104-degree fever and an old spine injury that had resurfaced. Gambaryan said he felt so frail and weak that at one point he “became convinced he was going to die.”
According to the article, Gambaryan remained bed-ridden for weeks and had resorted to taking blood thinners to prevent clots in his legs from lack of movement.
“Every night, he wrote, he would lie awake until 5 or 6 in the morning, too distracted by pain to even read a book. Sometimes he would call his family and talk to his daughter as she played a Japanese role-playing game,” wrote Greenberg.
Tigran Gambaryan was able to contact the outside world through a secret phone he acquired during his time in a Kuje prison cell. The Nigerian authorities had him under almost-constant surveillance and became weary he would escape after his Binance colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla managed to run from a government guesthouse and flew out of the country.
In his last moments at the guesthouse, Gambaryan was able to send out a video asking for help from the U.S. government in getting him out of the precarious situation he was in.
“Hello, my name is Tigran Gambaryan, I’m the head of financial crime and compliance for Binance. I’ve been detained by the Nigerian government for a month. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me after today,” he said in a video shot on March 23rd, 2024.
“They will take my phone away. The only thing I ask is, guys, I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve been a cop my whole life, I just ask the Nigerian government to let me go and I ask the United States government to assist me,” he continued.
During his time in detainment, Tigran Gambaryan had to go through a series of court hearings leading up to his release. Overtime, he had become so weak from his illnesses that he had limped into court on crutches. However, the court staff were not allowed to help him in any way.
“This is f*cked up! Why can’t I use a goddamn wheelchair? I’m an innocent person. I’m a fucking human,” he screamed in outrage in a viral video.
On Oct. 23, 2024, the Nigerian court finally ruled in favor of Tigran Gambaryan’s release after the government dropped all charges against him to allow him to get medical treatment abroad. He was given back his passport and belongings as well as permission to fly back to the United States, but not before he was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine for overstaying his visa.
The report also revealed that Gambaryan has considered rejoining government service and pursuing a human rights lawsuit against the Nigerian government for detaining him for 8 months under inhumane conditions.
“I wanted justice. And I still do,” said Gambaryan.
