IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1348 
Urging the Government of Nigeria to immediately release Tigran Gambaryan 
from imprisonment. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2024 
Mr. MCCORMICK (for himself and Mr. HILL) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Urging the Government of Nigeria to immediately release 
Tigran Gambaryan from imprisonment. 
Whereas Tigran Gambaryan is a citizen of the United States, 
a resident of Georgia, and a former Federal agent; 
Whereas Tigran Gambaryan worked for the Internal Revenue 
Service for over 10 years, investigating highly public 
crimes and seizing over $4,000,000,000 in illicit funds on 
behalf of the United States Government; 
Whereas Tigran Gambaryan, on the date of his detainment, 
was employed by Binance Holdings Limited (Binance) as 
the Head of Financial Crime Compliance; 
Whereas, on February 26, 2024, Tigran Gambaryan traveled 
to the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the invitation of the 
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•HRES 1348 IH 
Nigerian Government for high-level meetings regarding 
Binance’s compliance issues with the country; 
Whereas the meetings became increasingly hostile, and 
Tigran Gambaryan was escorted by armed guards to his 
hotel room where he was forced to pack his belongings 
and surrender his passport; 
Whereas Tigran Gambaryan was then moved to a Nigerian 
Government-owned house, known as the ‘‘Guest House’’ 
where he was detained for 5 days without the ability to 
inform his family, company, attorneys, or the Depart-
ment of State of his situation; 
Whereas, on March 12, 2024, the court order that had been 
obtained by the Nigerian authorities to detain Tigran 
Gambaryan for 14 days had expired; 
Whereas, on March 20, 2024, the Chief Court 1 of the Mag-
istrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja, Ni-
geria) stated that ‘‘the remand order has not been ex-
tended’’, despite adjourning to April 5, 2024, for a rul-
ing; 
Whereas, from March 12, 2024, to April 5, 2024, there was 
no Nigerian legal basis for the continued detention of 
Tigran Gambaryan; 
Whereas, on April 5, 2024, Tigran Gambaryan was charged 
with several crimes, including tax evasion and money 
laundering, along with his employer, Binance, and was 
subsequently transferred to the notorious Kuje Prison, 
which is known for its harsh conditions and also holds 
members of the terrorist group Boko Haram; 
Whereas the Department of State released a 2023 report on 
the human rights situation, including prison conditions, 
in Nigeria, that highlighted credible reports of significant 
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•HRES 1348 IH 
human rights abuses, including the ‘‘inhuman, or degrad-
ing treatment or punishment by the government; harsh 
and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or 
detention; serious problems with the independence of the 
judiciary’’; 
Whereas, on May 14, 2024, Tigran was denied bail after 
lengthy delays and stalling tactics by the prosecution; 
Whereas, during Tigran’s detainment, he has been unable to 
speak privately with his attorneys, family, or the embassy 
staff of the United States; 
Whereas the Government of Nigeria is wrongfully detaining 
Tigran Gambaryan, in accordance with the criteria de-
scribed in section 302(a) of the Robert Levinson Hostage 
Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 
U.S.C. 1741(a)), in order to extort Binance; 
Whereas the Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris 
was quoted in a telephone interview as saying, ‘‘they 
[Binance] have committed a crime’’; 
Whereas the Government of Nigeria has admitted openly in 
court that Tigran is being tried in lieu of pursuing legal 
action against his employer; 
Whereas, on April 24, the Nigerian Government pleaded with 
the judge to deny bail, stating, ‘‘The 1st defendant 
(Binance) is operating virtually. The only thing we have 
to hold on to is this defendant (Tigran). So, we pray, My 
Lord, to refuse bail to the defendant’’; 
Whereas Tigran Gambaryan’s health has been declining dur-
ing his detention in Kuje Prison; 
Whereas repeated requests for doctor visits have been slow to 
be fulfilled, and when a doctor did visit, Tigran was re-
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•HRES 1348 IH 
ferred to a specialist rather than be treated by that doc-
tor; 
Whereas, on May 22, 2024, Tigran was absent from a court 
hearing and neither the court, the prosecutors, nor his 
defense team were aware of his whereabouts or condi-
tions; 
Whereas the court received no response from the prison and 
was forced to postpone his hearing; 
Whereas, on May 23, 2024, Tigran appeared in court for a 
hearing and was slumped over in his chair and when 
called to step forward, Tigran could not stand on his own 
and collapsed to the floor; 
Whereas Tigran tested positive for malaria and has been un-
able to receive proper treatment as his requests for hos-
pital treatment were delayed despite a May 23, 2024, 
order by the judge that he be released from Kuje Prison 
and admitted to a hospital for proper medical care; 
Whereas, on June 4, 2024, Tigran was transferred to a pri-
vate hospital for 5 hours to receive treatment and was 
immediately returned to Kuje Prison; 
Whereas Tigran’s case at the Federal Inland Revenue Service 
was closed and all tax-related charges were dropped; 
Whereas the Court determined that Gambaryan was not a 
representative of Binance and all orders requiring service 
of court processes be nullified; 
Whereas, as of June 14, 2024, Tigran remains the subject 
of charges filed against him by the Economic and Finan-
cial Crimes Commission despite concerns for his health 
and requests to release him on humanitarian grounds; 
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