Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, has accused three federal lawmakers of demanding $150 million bribe during the conflict between Nigeria and the cryptocurrency firm.
Gambaryan alleged that the legislators demanded that the kickback be paid into their personal digital wallets.
The executive was detained by the Nigerian government from February 2024 to October 2024 over the activities of Binance in the country.
Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance regional manager for Africa, were arrested in Nigeria in February 2024.
The federal government had accused the cryptocurrency firm of manipulating FX rates in Nigeria and destroying the country’s economy.
Both men were arrested after they travelled to Nigeria for a meeting with officials of the federal government.
A month later, Anjarwalla escaped from custody, leaving Gambaryan to face prosecution.
Gambaryan was freed in October 2024 after the Federal Government dropped charges of money laundering against his firm.
While in detention, Gambaryan had accused some lawmakers of demanding bribe from him to stave off his arrest and prosecution.
In a statement on X on Friday, Gambaryan named the lawmakers as the Deputy Spokesperson for the House of Assembly, Philip Agbese; the Head of the House of Representatives Committee on anti-corruption, Ginger Obinna Onwusibe; and the member representing the Obanliku/Obudu /Bekwara, Peter Akpanke.
The Binance executive said the meeting was a prerequisite to the planned meeting with members of the house of representatives.
He added that the DSS officials asked them to comply with whatever the federal lawmakers asked them to do.
“At the House meeting, there were three members present. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in,” he wrote.
“As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best.”
In May 2024, Richard Teng, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO), alleged that some unknown persons in Nigeria demanded $150 million in digital currency to make their problems in the country “go away”.
Reacting to the allegation, the federal government accused Binance of blackmail.
The lawmakers are yet to respond to the allegation at the time of filing this report.
