The journey that modified Tigran Gambaryan’s life endlessly was presupposed to be brief — only a few days. When he flew to Nigeria in February of 2024, he did not even examine a bag. Tigran is a former IRS Particular Agent. He made his title investigating high-profile darkish internet and cryptocurrency circumstances. Some colleagues known as him the ‘Crypto Wizard’ due to his pioneering work tracing crypto transactions for regulation enforcement. Since 2021, he is labored on the world’s largest crypto alternate, Binance.
Tigran was in Nigeria as a type of envoy. He was supposed to fulfill with authorities officers and present them that Binance – and crypto itself – was protected, dependable, and law-abiding.
One of the vital necessary conferences was on the headquarters of the Workplace of the Nationwide Safety Advisor. He says officers there made him wait hours. And when officers lastly got here into the room, they accused Binance of a number of crimes and of tanking the Nigerian financial system. They then instructed Tigran that they weren’t going to let him go away Nigeria till they had been happy that Binance was going to treatment the state of affairs.
On in the present day’s present, in a collaboration with Click on Right here from Recorded Future Information, we hear about Tigran’s eight month detention in Nigeria. In his first recorded interview after his launch, he shares particulars about his captivity, how he survived one in every of Nigeria’s most notorious prisons, and the way he acquired out.
Extra from Click on Right here about Gambaryan:
- Detained execs, a daring escape, and tax evasion prices: Nigeria takes purpose at Binance
- The corporate man: US glacial response to Nigeria’s detention of former IRS crypto investigator rankles federal brokers
- Nigerian court docket drops prices in opposition to detained Binance government Tigran Gambaryan
- Tracers on the stage: Speaking with the sleuths who cracked the massive crypto circumstances of the 2010s
This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Dina Temple-Raston and Nick Fountain. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and Sean Powers. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was truth checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our government producer.
Help our present and listen to bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or on npr.org.
At all times free at these hyperlinks: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anyplace you get podcasts.
Discover extra Planet Money: Fb / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly E-newsletter.
Music: NPR Supply Audio – “The Crypto Heist,” “Trapped Like a Bird,” and “Menage a Moi”
