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The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria

By Dina Temple-Raston,
Nick Fountain, Jess Jiang, Emma Peaslee, Sean Powers
Published February 11, 2025 at 9:09 AM EST
Megan J. Goff
/
Click Here

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.

More from Click Here about Gambaryan:

  • Detained execs, a bold escape, and tax evasion charges: Nigeria takes aim at Binance
  • The company man: US glacial response to Nigeria's detention of former IRS crypto investigator rankles federal agents
  • Nigerian court drops charges against detained Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan
  • Tracers on the stage: Talking with the sleuths who cracked the big crypto cases of the 2010s

This episode of Planet Money was hosted by Dina Temple-Raston and Nick Fountain. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and Sean Powers. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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Music: NPR Source Audio - "The Crypto Heist," "Trapped Like a Bird," and "Menage a Moi"

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Dina Temple-Raston
Dina Temple-Raston is a correspondent on NPR's Investigations team focusing on breaking news stories and national security, technology and social justice.
See stories by Dina Temple-Raston
Nick Fountain
Nick Fountain produces and reports for Planet Money. Since he joined the team in 2015, he's reported stories on pears, black pepper, ice cream, chicken, and hot dogs (twice). Come to think of it, he reports on food a whole lot. But he's also driven the world's longest yard sale, uncovered the secretive group that controls international mail, and told the story of a crazy patent scheme that involved an acting Attorney General.
See stories by Nick Fountain
Jess Jiang
Jess Jiang is the producer for NPR's international podcast, Rough Translation. Previously, Jess was a producer for Planet Money. In 2014, she won an Emmy for the team's T-shirt project. She followed the start of the t-shirt's journey, from cotton farms in Mississippi to factories in Indonesia. But her biggest prize has been getting to drive a forklift, back hoe, and a 35-ton digger for a story. Jess got her start in public radio at Studio 360—though, if you search hard enough, you can uncover a podcast she made back in college.
See stories by Jess Jiang
Emma Peaslee
Emma Peaslee is a 2020-21 Kroc Fellow. Before coming to NPR, she reported for Atlanta's member station, WABE. She covered public forums about toxic chemicals leaking into neighborhoods, the world's largest 10K race, and the federal government's plan to resume executions. Peaslee has a master's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where her work received the 2020 Edward R. Murrow Award for best student newscast. She is a Minnesota native.
See stories by Emma Peaslee
Sean Powers