Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has alleged that certain senior government officials demanded $150 million in cryptocurrency to settle a criminal case against the company.
This accusation comes amid a crackdown by the Nigerian government on the cryptocurrency platform as part of efforts to strengthen the national currency. The current administration has charged Binance with tax evasion, currency speculation, and laundering money amounting to $35,400,000.
Richard Teng, the Chief Executive Officer of Binance, made these bribery allegations in a blog post published by the New York Times on Tuesday.
The New York Times report also mentioned that Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer at the exchange, received a troubling message during a visit to Nigeria in January.
“On a trip to Nigeria in January, Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer for the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, received an unsettling message: The company had 48 hours to make a payment of roughly $150 million in crypto,” the report said.
Gambaryan, a former United States law enforcement agent, said he understood the message as a request for a bribe from someone in President Bola Tinubu’s government.
“Mr. Gambaryan, a former U.S. law enforcement agent, understood the message as a request for a bribe from someone in the Nigerian government, according to five people familiar with the matter and messages reviewed by The New York Times. He and a group of his Binance colleagues had just met with Nigerian legislators, who accused the company of tax violations and threatened to arrest its employees.”
It has been reported that the alleged incident occurred before Tigran Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested and detained on the orders of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Anjarwalla later fled and has been located in Kenya.
Since April 8, Gambaryan has been moved from a safe house to the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja. Both Binance and Gambaryan are being prosecuted by the Federal Government on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.
In response, Zakari Mijinyawa, the spokesman for the Office of the National Security Adviser, affirmed that the Federal Government will adhere to due process.
Mijinyawa, according to a text sent to New York Times said the government would make its case “on the strength of the facts and evidence, in accordance with due process.”
“We are confident that Nigeria has a good case. Binance equally will have every opportunity under the rule of law to make its case and see justice delivered,” Mijinyawa said.