Tigran Gambaryan, an executive at Binance Holdings Limited, has accused three Nigerian federal lawmakers of demanding a $150 million bribe during the dispute between the cryptocurrency firm and the Nigerian government.
Gambaryan alleged that the legislators requested the payment be made in cryptocurrency and deposited into their personal digital wallets.
The executive was detained by the Nigerian government from February to October 2024 over Binance’s operations in the country. He and Binance’s regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested in February 2024 after travelling to Nigeria for a meeting with government officials.
The federal government had accused Binance of manipulating foreign exchange (FX) rates and negatively impacting the Nigerian economy. Anjarwalla later escaped custody in March 2024, leaving Gambaryan to face prosecution alone.
In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Gambaryan revealed that he and Anjarwalla had initially met with Department of State Services (DSS) officials in January 2024 as a prerequisite to a meeting with members of the House of Representatives. He claimed the DSS advised them to comply with whatever the lawmakers requested.
“At the House meeting, there were three members present. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in,” Gambaryan wrote.
“As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best.”
In May 2024, Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, also alleged that unidentified persons in Nigeria demanded $150 million in digital currency to resolve the company’s legal troubles in the country.
The Nigerian government has denied the allegations, accusing Binance of attempting to blackmail the country.