Nigeria has denied bribery allegations made by Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The Nigerian government described these allegations as a diversionary tactic to prevent focus on Binance's activities.
The denial came in response to a blog post by Binance CEO Richard Teng, who claimed a “secret” payment was requested from the company to resolve issues in Nigeria. Since these allegations emerged, one of Binance employees has been imprisoned in the country.
Teng accused unidentified Nigerian government officials of demanding a $150 million cryptocurrency payment to stop the ongoing criminal investigation against Binance. However, Rabiu Ibrahim, spokesman for the country's Ministry of Communications, rejected these claims, calling them baseless and a delaying tactic. Binance has not yet responded to these comments.
The dispute between Binance and Nigeria escalated when the company's activities were blocked and two of its employees were detained in the country. While one of the employees managed to escape, the other, Tigran Gambaryan, continues to be detained on charges of tax evasion, foreign exchange speculation and money laundering. His trial is expected to begin this month.
Teng's blog post detailed a meeting with Nigerian officials in Abuja in early January, during which Binance faced criminal allegations. Teng claimed that after the meeting, Binance staff were offered a payment by “unknown persons” to resolve the claims. The company's lawyer was later “submitted to a significant request for payment in cryptocurrency to be paid secretly within 48 hours to resolve these issues.”
Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla returned to Nigeria at the end of February at the invitation of the authorities and received assurances that they would leave the country safely. Despite these assurances, they were immediately arrested.
Ibrahim stated that the bribery allegation was part of an international campaign to undermine the Nigerian government by Binance, which has been criminally prosecuted in several countries, including the United States. “He will not clear his name in Nigeria by resorting to fictional allegations and smearing media campaigns.” he added.
In Nigeria, Binance has been under scrutiny for months as authorities focus on the role of cryptocurrencies in speculation against the naira, which has lost nearly 65% of its value against the dollar.
*This is not investment advice.