Nigerian government refutes Binance CEO’s $150 million bribe claims

The Nigerian government has denied allegations made by Binance CEO Richard Teng that its officials demanded a $150 million bribe to settle criminal charges against the crypto exchange.

In an official statement issued on Wednesday, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Guidance, Rabiu Ibrahim, dismissed the claims as baseless.

A “fun tactic”

Ibrahim stated that the allegations were part of a coordinated effort by Binance to discredit the Nigerian government and divert attention from the charges the company is currently facing in the country.

“This claim by the CEO of Binance has no substance whatsoever. It is nothing more than a diversionary tactic and a blackmail attempt by a company desperate to obfuscate the serious criminal charges it faces in Nigeria. The facts of “The matter remains that Binance is being investigated in Nigeria for allowing its platform to be used for money laundering, terrorist financing and currency manipulation through illegal trading,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Teng had published a blog post calling out the Nigerian government for unjustly detaining two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla.

In the blog post, Teng claimed that Binance had been approached by unnamed Nigerian government officials who demanded that he be secretly paid $150 million in cryptocurrency to stop investigations into the company’s activities. Teng urged the authorities to release Tigran Gambaryan, who had been detained for more than 70 days.

Nigeria to pursue criminal case against Binance

Continuing in his statement, Ibrahim stated that the government’s investigations will not be deterred by Binance’s claims, which he calls “blackmail”.

“We would like to remind Binance that it will not clear its name in Nigeria by resorting to fictitious claims and mud media campaigns. The only way to resolve its issues will be through an unimpeded investigation and due process. .The Nigerian government will continue to act within its international laws and norms and will not succumb to any form of blackmail from any entity, local or foreign,” Ibrahim said.

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