Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance CEO who was kidnapped and illegally imprisoned in Nigeria for eight months, said it would be an honor to serve his country again if called upon to fight cryptocrime under the new Trump administration.
Gambaryan, who has been head of financial crime compliance at Binance for the past two years, is a former federal agent and part of an elite group of early crypto trackers in the federal government that included some high-profile investigations in Trump’s last term. in office.
“Although I am not a political person, some of my most consistent case management occurred during the President’s previous term,” Gambaryan told Coindesk via email. “If given the opportunity, it would be an honor to serve my country again and work alongside the incredible men and women of federal law enforcement who worked tirelessly to bring me back to my family.”
Gambaryan has been recommended for several high-profile roles, such as head of crypto assets at the SEC or a senior position in the FBI’s cyber division. The recommendations to the Trump transition team came from people associated with the Bitcoin 2024 Nashville conference, which Trump attended, such as event organizer David Bailey, and Tracy Hoyos-López, Kraken’s head of strategic initiatives, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bailey and Hoyos-López declined to comment. Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
Asked about the potential move, Binance CEO Richard Teng said in an interview: “At this point, Tigran is still a member of our staff, so let’s see what his intentions are. I’m not familiar with his thought process. I’m not familiar with the American administrative process.”
During his ten years as an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigator, Gambaryan was instrumental in taking down the Child Sexual Abuse Video Network. Welcome to the video and darknet marketplace Alpha Bay, the seizure of nearly 70,000 bitcoins stolen from Silk Road, and the recovery of 650,000 bitcoins stolen from Mt Gox.
Gambaryan’s detention in Nigeria sparked outrage across the crypto industry and beyond, including several members of Congress.
READ MORE: Tigran Gambaryan: Star Crypto Investigator kidnapped by Nigeria
