The Federal Government on Friday dismissed the claims by Binance’s Head of financial crime, Tigran Gambaryan, who spent eight months in a Nigerian detention facility over alleged corruption.
The Binance executive claimed three Nigerian lawmakers demanded a $150 million bribe from him.
Gambaryan, a United States citizen, was recently tried in Nigeria for financial offences; however, Following the US government’s involvement, Nigerian authorities released him.
In a post on X, he claimed that his wrongful imprisonment by the Nigerian government forced former US President Joe Biden to cancel a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 UN General Assembly (UNGA).
He blamed the situation on National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and said that the US administration cut the number of Nigeria’s delegation to the annual global assembly. The Binance executive also named three Nigerian legislators who reportedly requested a bribe of $150 million from him.
However, the Federal Government advised the people to completely dismiss the charges.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described Gambaryan’s claims as a deliberate misinformation campaign.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria notes with concern the outrageous allegations, misinformation, and defamatory statements being disseminated by Tigran Gambaryan, an American personnel of Binance who was recently tried in Nigeria for financial crimes,” the statement read.
“The government rejected Binance’s offer of a $5 million down payment in exchange for Mr. Gambaryan’s freedom, in favour of a more beneficial settlement with the American government.”
According to Idris, the administration indicated that it was forced to correct the record in order to prevent falsehoods from spreading.
The minister also addressed Gambaryan’s bribery allegations, emphasizing that his original visit to Nigeria was wholly voluntary and not sanctioned by any official institution.
According to him, an investigation was immediately launched once the alleged incident was brought to the government’s attention.
“The first visit by Mr. Gambaryan and his colleagues to Nigeria was discretional on their part and the government was not officially involved.
“However, when the attention of the government was called to an alleged bribery demand during that trip, an investigation was immediately opened into it though there was no formal complaint by anyone,” he stated.
The Federal Government detained Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British Kenyan who serves as the regional manager for Africa at Binance.
Both were charged with money laundering involving $35 million, as initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Anjarwalla managed to escape from custody on March 22, 2024.
