Dollar speculation: FG rubbishes Binance CEO’s bribery allegation

The Federal Government on Tuesday vowed to pursue the criminal case against the crypto platform, Binance, and its officials, to a logical end.

Speaking against the backdrop of a bribery allegation made by the Binance Chief Executive Officer, Richard Teng, in a blog post published by the New York Times, top officials of the President Bola Tinubu administration described as false and unfounded the accusation that some individuals demanded $150m bribe in cryptocurrency to settle the criminal charge against the firm.

The NYT on Tuesday reported that on a trip to Nigeria in January, Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer with the exchange, received an unsettling message: The company had 48 hours to make a payment of roughly $150m in crypto.

Gambaryan, a former United States law enforcement agent, understood the message as a request for a bribe from someone in the Nigerian government.

The incident allegedly occurred before Gambaryan and a colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested and detained on the orders of the National Security Adviser. Anjarwalla subsequently escaped and has been traced to Kenya.

Gambaryan has been held in Kuje Correctional Facility in  the last four weeks, after he was transferred there from a safe house on April 8.

Both Binance and Gambaryan are facing trial for tax evasion and money laundering.