Tigran Gambaryan, an executive at Binance Holdings, has spoken about his eight-month detention in Nigeria after being accused of money laundering and currency speculation by the federal government.
As reported by The Guardian, it was made known that in an interview with Wired, Gambaryan described his time in the VIP section of Kuje Prison, and how former Deputy Police Commissioner Abba Kyari helped him survive.
On April 8, 2024, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought Binance Holdings Ltd and Gambaryan before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja. They were charged with five offenses, including tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering involving $34.4 million.
As his legal case continued, Gambaryan told Wired about the difficult conditions he faced in detention. At first, he was kept in solitary confinement by the EFCC. Later, he was transferred to Kuje Prison, a facility known for holding high-profile inmates, including people accused of being Boko Haram terrorists.
Gambaryan was placed in Kuje Prison’s high-security segregation wing. This area is meant for high-risk prisoners and VIP inmates who can afford special treatment.
His VIP cell, which measured 6 by 10 feet, had a toilet, a metal bed frame, and what he called a “glorified blanket” as a mattress. There was only one window, covered with metal bars.
Gambaryan said that in Kuje Prison’s VIP wing, he was surrounded by influential inmates. Among them were a cousin of Nigeria’s vice president, a man accused of fraud who was waiting to be extradited to the U.S., and Abba Kyari, the former deputy police commissioner. Kyari himself was facing charges in the U.S. for alleged corruption.
According to Gambaryan, Kyari was highly respected inside the prison. Other inmates worked for him, and even the prison guards treated him with special regard.
Kyari’s wife regularly brought home-cooked food for everyone, including the guards. Gambaryan mentioned that he particularly liked a Northern Nigerian meal that she made, so she would prepare extra for him.
In exchange, he shared the takeout meals his lawyers brought him from a fast-food restaurant called Kilimanjaro. Kyari especially liked the Scotch eggs from there.
Gambaryan also said that his neighbour in the VIP section helped him understand the unwritten rules of prison life; how to get access to a phone, how to avoid problems with prison staff, and how to stay out of trouble with other inmates.
However, Gambaryan insists he never paid a bribe to the guards, adding that they sometimes demanded absurd amounts in the tens of thousands of dollars—but his closeness to Kyari protected him nonetheless.
“He was my Red,” Gambaryan told Wired, comparing Kyari to Morgan Freeman’s character in The Shawshank Redemption. “He was instrumental to my survival.”
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