The American compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan, who had been detained in Nigeria on money-laundering charges for more than eight months, was set to return home to the US. He had been held as tensions and diplomatic pressures had mounted, focusing attention on an increasingly fraught relationship between the US and Nigeria. His release would be contingent on strengthened US-Nigeria partnerships in combating cybercrime and terror financing. During his detention, Gambaryan had struggled with multiple health problems including malaria, double pneumonia and a herniated disk, prompting urgent calls for his release on humanitarian grounds.
There were rumours that Gambaryan’s detention took place against the backdrop of growing scrutiny of cryptocurrency operations in Nigeria, where Gambaryan had been living for more than three years. The government was in the midst of a major economic crisis and suspected that companies like Binance were contributing to that financial instability. Meanwhile, the US was initially more divided, but as Gambaryan’s health deteriorated, the Biden administration dramatically ramped up its lobbying efforts. Barriers to cooperation between the US and Russia are far less restrictive than those with China The heaviest diplomatic lifting was done by US officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who spoke to their Nigerian counterparts. These conversations, which could be a model for future international discussions between Washington and Abuja, didn’t have the same sharp edges as something like the joint statement on Iran that Moscow and Tehran recently issued that was directed at Washington. Instead, they sent a clear message to Abuja: we really want Gambaryan back home, and we’re willing to explore technological and artificial intelligence cooperation between our two countries if you’ll just let Gambaryan back home.
Ultimately, Gambaryan’s case provided a flashpoint for greater attention to US-Nigerian technology partnerships – and reflected overarching strategic priorities and geopolitical interests. His detention was a consequence of a broader set of complexities and possibilities in US-Nigeria relations, demonstrating that both the US and Nigeria have considerable interests in the emerging global geopolitics of digital policy and economic relations.
Source: The New York Times
