FG dismisses Binance CEO bribery accusation

The federal government on Tuesday vowed to bring the criminal case against crypto platform Binance and its officials to a logical end.

Speaking in the context of a bribery allegation made by Binance CEO Richard Teng in a blog post published by the New York Times, senior officials in President Bola Tinubu’s administration described as false and baseless the allegation that some people demanded $150. m cryptocurrency bribery to resolve the criminal charge against the company.

The NYT reported on Tuesday that on a trip to Nigeria in January, Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer at the exchange, received a disturbing message: the company had 48 hours to make a payment of approximately $150 million in cryptocurrency.

Gambaryan, a former US police officer, 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 Advisor. Anjarwalla subsequently escaped and has been traced to Kenya.

Gambaryan has been held at the Kuje Correctional Center for the past four weeks, after he was transferred there from a safe house on April 8.

Both Binance and Gambaryan face trial for tax evasion and money laundering.

His trial was scheduled to begin last Thursday, but the court postponed it until May 17.

Gambaryan reportedly wrote a three-page report outlining the payment request and gave it to Binance’s lawyers, two people familiar with the report told the NYT.

He also reportedly alerted his contacts in the Nigerian government and told them about the incident.

Binance had denied that Gambaryan had any “decision-making power” in the company.

The case is the latest legal headache for Binance, which agreed to a $4.3 billion fine last year to resolve U.S. government accusations that it allowed criminal activity to flourish on its platform.

In April, the company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in those violations.

ONSA spokesperson Zakari Mijinyawa said in a text message to the NYT that the Federal Government would present its case “based on the facts and evidence, in accordance with due process.”

“We are confident that Nigeria has a good case. Binance will also have every opportunity under the rule of law to present her case and see justice done,” Mijinyawa said.

In his post, Teng laid out the story of Binance’s commitment to Nigeria, which has become a hotspot for the cryptocurrency industry.

It has the second-highest cryptocurrency adoption rate in the world behind India, according to Chainalysis, a data company.

In 2023, financial regulators issued a statement ordering Binance to stop soliciting investors in Nigeria.

Binance stopped its advertising in the country and offered to meet with government officials, Teng said.

On January 8, Teng said Gambaryan and a group of Binance employees met with lawmakers, but the meeting was contentious.

Lawmakers, he wrote, read aloud a list of accusations against Binance, including tax violations.

They also threatened to seek an arrest warrant for Teng, according to the article.

As Binance employees left the meeting, Teng wrote that “unknown people” approached them and suggested they make a payment to resolve the allegations.

A local lawyer representing Binance later spoke with someone purporting to be a House committee agent, Teng further claimed in his article, adding that the alleged agent demanded “a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid secretly within “After 48 hours to do these, the problems disappear”

The amount was approximately $150 million, four people familiar with the matter said, according to a Bloomberg report, citing NYT sources.

“Our team became increasingly concerned for their safety in Nigeria and left immediately. Of course, we rejected the demand for payment through our lawyer, not considering it a legitimate settlement offer,” Teng wrote in his post.

Teng claimed that Binance had received assurances that Gambaryan would be safe if he returned to Nigeria.

According to him, a company advisor with deep local connections recommended that Binance officials meet with ONSA.

EFCC dismisses accusation

However, a prosecutor at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ekele Iheanacho, dismissed Teng’s accusation and vowed to pursue the case to the end.

Iheanacho, one of the lawyers prosecuting the Binance officials, said: “No one demanded money, the case is coming to a logical conclusion.” He is making it up, although I am not aware of any such accusations. “As far as I’m concerned, the charges remain and we are doing everything we can to ensure we reach a logical end.”

The Media Adviser to the Attorney General of the Federation, Kamarudeen Ogundele, directed the queries to the Minister of Information and the Presidency.

He said: “You can call the information minister or the president’s spokesperson. This accusation is not related to the court. It is not an allegation against the Attorney General of the Federation.

Information Minister Mohammed Idris could not be reached for comment because calls rang to his phone.

But senior officials, who spoke in separate interviews with The PUNCH on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, challenged the Binance boss to reveal the names of the people who demanded the bribe.

A senior ONSA official, close to the investigation, said: “Did he (Binance CEO) mention a name? Since he didn’t mention any names, why should anyone care? Why should anyone waste their time if someone made a baseless accusation but couldn’t mention any names?

A senior EFCC boss, close to the trial, also said: “If someone said something like this, they should have the ability to name the people. It’s not worth our time, anyone can say anything, but as long as they can’t substantiate it, it’s a waste of time. He should mention names, otherwise everything he says is rubbish.”

Two senior EFCC officials have accused the Binance CEO of blackmailing the federal government.

They noted that Teng’s claim was frivolous and described his action as “the modus operandi of foreign personalities and corporations facing legal charges in Nigeria and other African countries.”

One of the sources noted: “It is not just the EFCC that is prosecuting or investigating Binance for its atrocities against Nigeria. There are accusations of money laundering and tax evasion, among other things, against the company, and several federal government agencies are investigating the company’s activities in the country.

“But the latest comment regarding an alleged bribe request by the CEO of Binance is blackmail against the Federal Government. “That is the modus operandi of international corporations and individuals facing charges in Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa.”

A senior official noted: “It is the tradition of these international actors to blackmail the country every time they are caught. What is the correlation between the alleged bribery request and the allegations brought against Binance?

“The facts are there: they evaded taxes, their platform is used to launder money, so why don’t they face the facts? The claim is frivolous and mere blackmail against the government.”

ONSA spokesperson Mijinyawa could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. He did not respond to calls or a message sent to his phone.

EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale declined to comment.

CSOs react

Commenting on the development, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Ibrahim, said he was not surprised by the allegation and highlighted the poor reputation of Nigeria’s administrative justice system.

He urged the chief executive to “be bold enough” to name the people and organizations involved in the alleged bribery demand so they can be dealt with decisively.

”This accusation is not enough, it must be investigated and Nigerians must be made aware of who undermines the integrity of their country. The CEO (of Binance) should be bold enough to name those individuals or corporate organizations that have demanded bribes in this matter.

”This is important to not make frivolous accusations and also to deal decisively with these public officials who always mortgage this country. Therefore, we urge you to be brave and bold enough to also name those people, those organizations, those government officials, if they were involved,” he said.

Similarly, Center for Accountability and Open Leadership President Debo Adeniran said Binance should be forced to name the alleged individuals so they can be prosecuted.

He added that the officials who allowed the Binance executive to leave the country should also be investigated.

“Binance should be forced to name names and everyone involved should be prosecuted and punished. All agencies involved in the Binance case; “The DSS, NIA, DMI and Immigration Services, which allowed him to escape from Nigeria, should be investigated and guilty offenders prosecuted and given deterrent punishment,” he suggested.

Binance did not respond to email queries to provide clarity and insight into the “unknown persons” who suggested making payments to resolve the allegations.

The crypto exchange also did not respond to how much the “unknown persons” requested.