Two senior officials from the U.S. State Department have revealed that the American government has urged Nigeria to set free Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan, who was arrested in February and suffered from severe health problems during his detention. This incident has already affected the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Nigeria. Secretary of State Blinken discussed this issue with the Nigerian foreign minister in May. Furthermore, American diplomats, including the U.S. ambassador in Nigeria, privately contacted the Nigerian president, finance minister, justice minister, and trade minister, calling for the release of Gambaryan. The U.S. diplomats believe that based on humanitarian grounds, Gambaryan, aged 40, should be released as he was diagnosed with malaria and herniated disc diseases while in prison, but failed to receive appropriate medical treatment, leading to a rapid deterioration of his health. Gambaryan arrived in Nigeria in February to discuss Binance's business operations in the country with local officials. Nigerian authorities accused Binance of causing the naira currency rate to fall by allowing users to transfer funds out of the local currency, which they claim has damaged Nigeria's economy. Initially, Gambaryan and Binance were charged with tax evasion and money laundering, but tax-related charges have now been dropped, while other charges are still ongoing.