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The Nigerian government has answered allegations of corruption brought against its senior officials by Binance’s financial crime chief Tigran Gambaryan.
Information Minister Mohammed Idris said in a statement on Friday, February 14 that Mr. Gambaria’s allegations were not only not cancelled, but lacked credibility because he clearly discredited and intimidated those who ensured he faced it. The motivation of the righteous. ”
Mr Idris added: “We explicitly deny Mr Gambaria’s claims of retaliation against Nigerian officials involved in the case and we urge the public to ignore these false allegations.”
He further noted that the Nigerian government was reluctant to interact with Mr. Gambaria, given the high-level diplomatic interventions that addressed his case.
“…We are confident that both Nigeria and the US judicial system will provide Mr. Gambaria with a fair opportunity to confirm his demands in court. Until then, we recommend that the public act with caution and not be subject to Mr. Gambaria’s. The influence of unfounded and malicious claims, Mr. Idris concluded in a lengthy statement.
Recall that the Gambarian and another Binance official, Nadeem Anjarwalla, was detained last year by the Nigerian government, which accused its company of money laundering and encouraging crime in Nigeria.
When Mr. Anjarwalla escaped custody in March 2024, Mr. Gambaryan was detained until October 2024 when Nigeria dropped the charges against him after an intervention by the U.S. government.
Gambaryan narrated his suffering after he released his detention, claiming that senior Nigerian government officials sought bribes that had his legal troubles gone.
In the exposure, Gambaria accused Nigeria’s national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu, seeking to personally benefit from the dispute between Nigeria and Erqian (read here).
The cryptocurrency official also claimed that Mr Ribadu hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate his release from the detention during Nigeria, but the move failed due to their “incompetence and greed.”
Gambaryan made the allegations in a series of posts on X on Friday, February 14.
In his post, the obligation officials mentioned the names of Nigerian lawmakers, who allegedly asked him to receive a $150 million bribe to avoid his arrest and prosecution.
In response, Mr Idris said the government investigated the allegations against lawmakers. However, he did not state the results of the investigation.
Gambaryan narrates his ordeal and Nigeria’s interaction with the United States, saying Ribadu’s actions have angered the U.S. government.
He also claimed that the former anti-corruption chief, Mr. Rabadu, who was decorated with a height, tried to profit from the controversy.
Gambaryan claimed: “Rabardu stressed that he hopes billions of dollars in spending to fund his future political ambitions.”
Americans also accused the Nigerian government of demanding cryptocurrency companies’ citizen data targeting opposition parties in their tweets.
“They are trying to use us (Binance) to violate international privacy laws, requiring user data from allegedly targeting opposition members, allegedly “manipulating the price of Naira”.
