This is a blow-by-blow account of the agreement between Nigeria and the US that yielded the release of Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive detained here.
After Nigeria called off negotiations with Binance for Tigran Gambaryan’s release, the American government intensified diplomatic efforts to resolve the matter. On 30 September 2024, the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan telephoned his Nigerian counterpart, Nuhu Ribadu.
Details of their discussions are unknown, but those familiar with the matter said that after that engagement, things moved quickly, with the US becoming less bullish in its approach to the talks. Officials involved in the negotiations said before then that Binance lawyers and US officials condescended in their approaches to the matter, believing their country’s laws should prevail over Nigeria’s.
Insiders said three days later, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., messaged officials at Mr Ribadu’s office, saying his embassy was ready to advance negotiations and chart a way forward.
Before the Ribadu-Sullivan call, Nigeria had detailed conditions for Mr Gambaryan’s release on humanitarian grounds, but the US had repeatedly stalled. Firstly, Nigeria demanded that the Binance official’s release be framed at all times as a diplomatic gesture to the United States and that Mr Gambaryan would only be released to “U.S. officials” and not to Binance.
Secondly, Nigeria demanded full cooperation and assistance from the US in the country’s law enforcement actions against Binance and other cryptocurrency firms. In this respect, Nigeria wanted specific information about the US Department of Justice’s officials who would participate in this high-level engagement and provide technical assistance on Nigeria’s Binance investigation.
Thirdly, the West African nation demanded accelerated action to return about $380 million of seized assets to Nigeria. These assets include $6 million seized from a certain Ara Garabed Dolarian concerning payments made by former NSA Sambo Dasuki for arms procurement, $53 million from the forfeiture of properties in the case involving Diezani Alison-Madueke and Jide Aluko and $150 million from Sani Abacha-linked assets frozen in France since 2012 following a bilateral request by the US Department of Justice. The US seized the last asset for which Nigeria demanded speedier action, amounting to 140-160 million Euros, from the family of a former Nigerian governor.
Fourthly, Nigeria asked the US to formally communicate its request for Mr Gambaryan’s release in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, which was copied to the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. In addition, Nigeria insisted that its release of Mr Gambaryan would not prevent it from continuing the probe and prosecution of Binance and its officials.
Ambassador Mills promptly communicated Nigeria’s demands to Washington, and in days, a formal letter containing the negotiated offers arrived in Abuja. After the agreements were signed, Nigeria instructed its prosecutors to withdraw charges against Mr Gambaryan, culminating in his release and departure from Nigeria on 23 October.
President Joe Biden telephoned President Tinubu six days later to thank him for the Binance official’s release. “The two leaders exchanged pleasantries, and President Biden proceeded to thank President Tinubu for his partnership and for Nigeria’s partnership, in particular the collaboration between the two countries with regards to our law enforcement and law enforcement agencies as well as the release of one of the suspects of the cryptocurrency exchange company (Binance),” Mr Tuggar told journalists after the call.
What Nigeria has benefited so far from the deal
Mr Gambaryan’s release has so far yielded significant benefits for Nigeria. For instance, as agreed by both countries during negotiation, on the same day the Binance official was freed, the US embassy in Nigeria announced the launch of the U.S.-Nigeria Bilateral Liaison Group on Illicit Finance and Cryptocurrencies. The two countries now collaborate to counter and respond to malicious cyber operations, cybercrime, and other digital harms through that platform. The US Department of Justice is now helping to enhance the capacity of relevant personnel of Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies to pursue cybercrime investigations and prosecutions.
On 23 December 2024, the US District Court for Eastern California ordered the release of a $6.02 million arms fund to Nigeria. The US seized the funds about a decade ago from an arms broker hired to supply military equipment from the US to Nigeria without having the necessary licence.
The US government said the arms broker’s active involvement in the sale, export, and supply of military products to Nigeria without authorisation violated the Arms Export Control Act, leading to the seizure of the funds. After the criminal proceedings concerning the funds in the US ended, Nigeria declared interest in the money and took steps to recover it.
The US government resisted Nigeria’s bid to recover the funds. However, after Mr Gambaryan’s release, the US government, on 19 December, agreed to forfeit the assets to Nigeria.
Another fruit of Mr Gambaryan’s release is the US return of $52.88 million linked to ex-Minister Alison-Madueke and Kola Aluko to Nigeria. On 10 January, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., signed an Asset Return Agreement to repatriate the funds to Nigeria.
According to the agreement, $50 million of the repatriated funds will be utilised through the World Bank to partly fund a rural electrification project to increase the reliability and availability of renewable energy in Nigeria. The balance of $2.88 million will be disbursed as a grant by Nigeria to the International Institute for Justice (IIJ) to support ‘the Rule of Law and Counter-Terrorism Project’ through counter-terrorism capacity building for Criminal Justice Sector Practitioners in East, West, and North Africa.”
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