On February 25, 2024, my husband Tigran Gambaryan arrived in Abuja, Nigeria at the invitation of the Nigerian government for policy meetings on behalf of his employer.

Tigran flew in from Suwanee, Georgia where our young family lives. He was only supposed to be there for 48 hours and traveled with just a small bag. Now, multiple weeks later, the Nigerian authorities continue to refuse to allow him to leave the country as they work-up bogus charges, and the conditions of his detention have worsened significantly.

I am asking you to not only sign this petition but also share it with your friends and family calling on the US Government to do more to bring one of their own home.

WHO IS TIGRAN?

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, and raised in California, Tigran is a husband, son, and most importantly, a remarkable father. He’s a former US Government official and globally recognized expert for his work in law enforcement.

Tigran is renowned worldwide for his dedication to cleaning up the crypto industry and collaborating with governments and stakeholders to combat financial crimes. His efforts have brought down some of history’s most notorious cyber criminals, including drug dealers, human-traffickers, and money launderers.

Tigran's work in battling cyber crime and retrieving millions of dollars for the US government is so important that it was featured in a book called "Tracers in the Dark". It highlights how Tigran was an integral part of the take down of the notorious Alphabay dark web market and investigating a corrupt DEA agent who stole millions in bitcoin.

He was hired by Binance to make crypto safer and fix past compliance issues. He even trained Nigeria's EFCC officers - the very same people who are now holding him - on how to fight cyber crime. Over the course of 2022 and 2023, Tigran and his team helped law enforcement globally seize more than $2.2bn worth of illicit funding. It is deeply ironic that he is being charged with the crimes he spent his life fighting. My husband is an innocent man, a pawn in someone else’s game.

What has made this situation worse is that our government, the US government, has not made any progress to bring my husband home. In fact, as of 3rd April, representatives from the US embassy in Nigeria have not even visited him for over 12 days. 

Tigran is innocent. 

 

 

 

 

WHAT HAPPENED?

Following a day of policy meetings, Tigran, and his colleague, were taken back to his hotel, told to pack their bags, and taken to a secure compound controlled by the Nigerian government. Tigran’s passport was taken away and he has been held ever since. 

At that time, the authorities obtained a court order to hold him for 14 days while they carried out an “investigation”, however it was never explained what these investigations were even about, as Tigran knew he had not committed a crime. Despite this court order expiring - and not being extended by the Nigerian courts – Tigran was never released.

Two weeks after the original 14-day order expired and Tigran was still detained, the Nigerian government charged him with bogus, tax-related charges. Ironically, Tigran is a former well-respected IRS agent who spent his government career fighting criminals who cheated the American government and recovered millions of dollars in stolen money from all over the world. 

Sadly, we all can see exactly what is happening, an innocent man is being used as a negotiating pawn by the Nigerian government.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

So far, no progress has been made in getting Tigran out of this nightmare. Tigran’s family and friends are pleading with the US Government to do more to have an innocent American citizen brought home.

According to the US State Department, America’s “partnership with Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and democracy, is built on shared interests and values, as well as strong people-to-people ties…The United States and Nigeria enjoy a deep and enduring partnership that spans more than six decades.”

In fact, as the State Department points out, “The United States is proud to be one of the largest foreign investors in Nigeria with foreign direct investment totaling $5.6 billion in 2022.”

We are therefore asking the US Government to lean on those strong ties with the Nigerian government to bring an American who has dedicated his entire career to fighting crime and upholding the rule of law, back home to his family.

Please sign this petition and share it widely to #BRINGTIGRANHOME!