Tigran Gambaryan, anti-money laundering expert at Binance, claimed that his wrongful arrest by the Nigerian government led to former U.S. President Joe Biden avoiding a planned meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Initially, the Nigerian presidency had announced that Biden was keen on meeting Tinubu, with U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee stating Biden wanted to meet only with him among African leaders. However, the meeting didn’t happen, prompting criticism from Nigerian opposition leaders suggesting Biden had snubbed Tinubu.
In response, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s ruling APC party claimed the leaders had met at another event. Gambaryan’s statement, however, implies Biden deliberately avoided the scheduled meeting.
The U.S. government had limited visas to the Nigerian delegation for UNGA, and Biden avoided meeting with Tinubu due to the arrest of Tigran Gambaryan.
Tigran Gambaryan, an anti-money laundering expert from Binance, was detained in Nigeria amid allegations by the Nigerian government that his company Binance was involved in money laundering to the tune of $26 billion. His detention sparked controversy, with former U.S. President Joe Biden advocating for his release. Months after his release, Gambaryan took to X (formerly Twitter) to share previously undisclosed details about his ordeal.
He alleged that the DSS, together with some members of the House of Representatives organized a meeting with him, on Friday, January 5, 2024, and demanded that he must comply with their instructions. He then went on to say that in a ploy to make the meeting appear official they had set up fake cameras and media, and demanded a $150 million bribe be paid to their personal wallet, despite they insisted the meeting was a friendly one with the NSA.
Expressing his disappointment, Gambaryan stated, “We had a strong working relationship with Nigerian law enforcement, but their greed destroyed all cooperation between Nigeria and the entire industry.”
He accused National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu of wanting to exploit the situation for personal political gain. “When the corruption scandal surfaced, Ribadu’s actions were exposed, and any potential settlement would be seen as a bribe” he stated.
According to Gambaryan, the real motive behind their detention was to force Binance to hand over user data, particularly on Nigerians, to target political opposition members, under the guise of investigating “manipulating the price of the naira.” He linked the naira’s devaluation to monetary policies introduced during President Tinubu’s administration rather than to Binance’s activities.
Gambaryan further claimed that the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu’s overreach led to international embarrassment for Nigeria, particularly when dealing with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. This misconduct reportedly angered the White House, leading to diplomatic repercussions such as limited visas for the Nigerian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and former President Biden’s refusal to meet with President Tinubu until Gambaryan’s situation was resolved.
Gambaryan stated that Ribadu “overestimated his influence,” suggesting that his actions not only disgraced Nigeria on an international level but also exposed his incompetence globally.
After Tigran Gambaryan’s release last year, Former president Joe Biden tweeted “Earlier, I spoke with President Tinubu of Nigeria to express my condolences on the floods impacting his country and my appreciation for his leadership in securing the humanitarian release of Tigran Gambaryan. We also spoke about the value of our partnership.”
