The trip that changed Tigran Gambaryan's life forever was supposed to be short — just a few days. When he flew to Nigeria in February of 2024, he didn't even check a bag. Tigran is a former IRS Special Agent. He made his name investigating high-profile dark web and cryptocurrency cases. Some colleagues called him the 'Crypto Wizard' because of his pioneering work tracing crypto transactions for law enforcement. Since 2021, he's worked at the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance.Tigran was in Nigeria as a sort of envoy. He was supposed to meet with government officials and show them that Binance – and crypto itself – was safe, reliable, and law-abiding.One of the most important meetings was at the headquarters of the Office of the National Security Advisor. He says officials there made him wait hours. And when officials finally came into the room, they accused Binance of a host of crimes and of tanking the Nigerian economy. They then told Tigran that they weren't going to let him leave Nigeria until they were satisfied that Binance was going to remedy the situation.On today's show, in a collaboration with Click Here from Recorded Future News, we hear about Tigran's eight month detention in Nigeria. In his first recorded interview after his release, he shares details about his captivity, how he survived one of Nigeria's most infamous prisons, and how he got out.Support our show and hear bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or on npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Full Episode
Heads up, this episode has a few curse words in it.
This is Planet Money from NPR.
There is this video that I've not been able to stop thinking about since I first saw it. It's a short video, just 39 seconds long, of a bearded man with a tight haircut, a white t-shirt, and a gold chain. And he is filming himself selfie style, but he seems to be holding the phone at this weird angle. As if he's trying to hide it from someone.
Hello, my name is Sigrun Gambir and I'm the head of financial crime compliance for Binance. I've been detained by the Nigerian government for a month. I don't know what's going to happen to me after today.
If this is ringing a bell, it first made the rounds last spring.
I've done nothing wrong. I asked the United States government to assist me. I need your help, guys. I don't know if I'll be able to get out of this without your help. Please help.
Then the video just ends. It's haunting. I first heard about this guy and this video from legendary reporter Dina Temple Raston. Hey, Dina.
Hey there.
Dina, you've been following this story, the story of Tigran Gambarian, since day one.
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