Wife of detained Binance executive appeals to Tinubu: 'Free my husband'

Wife of one of the detained Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan, Mrs Yuki Gambaryan has cried out to the federal government to release her husband to ease the untold hardship the family has gone through since his detention.

In an open letter, Mrs Gambaryan said her husband has deep respect for Nigeria and therefore couldn’t have done anything to jeopardise the integrity of the country.

She also pleaded that while it is understandable that the federal government has decided to scrutinise the activities of Binance, but that her husband is just a mere employee without powers to make corporate decisions.

She described Gambaryan as an incredible father, loving husband, and supportive friend to everyone who meets him

Part of 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.

“Tigran and I have two young children. This is the longest their Dad has ever been away from them, and they don’t understand why he hasn’t come home to them. They ask me every day when he will be coming home, and still I cannot give them an answer. This week is going to be especially difficult as it is our youngest’s 5th birthday on Friday. I never imagined Tigran would not be here with us to celebrate it.

“Meanwhile, his aging mother spends her days in tears, praying for the safe return of her only son. She raised Tigran almost all on her own. He is her everything, the thought of him being in a country so far away from her and in these circumstances is beyond devastating to her.

“A small part of me chips away every day without Tigran by my side. He is the love of my life, and I cannot imagine a life without him. I plead with you from the depths of my heart to release Tigran. Please let our children see their father. Your act of mercy would be eternally appreciated,” She added.

Recall that global cryptocurrency trading platform Binance had on Wednesday called for the release of Gambaryan. A spokesperson for the crypto giant said Gambaryan helped Nigeria’s anti-graft and security agencies recover assets and tackle money laundering, fraud, and kidnapping around June and late 2023.

“The information Gambaryan provided to the Nigerian government helped tackle various degrees of crimes – fraud, money laundering, blackmail, kidnapping, and extortion – that led to multiple asset freezes and seizures, totalling more than $400,000 USD,” a Binance spokesperson said.

The company claimed that Gambaryan’s team also provided multiple training sessions for Nigerian crime fighters on the role of exchanges in the digital-asset ecosystem.

Binance disclosed that Gambaryan tutored 70 officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and over 30 investigators in Lagos and Abuja during a three-hour workshop.