The head of financial crime of crypto firm Binance, Tigran Gambaryan who was detained in Nigeria for several months, has named three Nigerian lawmakers who allegedly demanded a $150 million bribe from him.
Recall that Mr Gambaryan and another Binance official were detained by the Nigerian government which accused their firm of money laundering and encouraging criminality in Nigeria. He was only released after the government dropped the charges against him following the intervention of the US government.
The Binance chief, during his detention, mentioned that some lawmakers demanded bribes from him to stave off his arrest and prosecution.
On Friday, he named the suspects in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He named the suspects as Peter Akpanke, Philip Agbese and Ginger Obinna Onwusibe.
Paradoxically, Mr Onwusibe heads the House of Representatives Committee on anti-corruption. Mr Agbese is the deputy spokesperson of the House.
Efforts are ongoing to get the accused persons to speak but the House has in the past denied demanding bribes from the Binance chief.
In his post, Mr Gambaryan provided details of the bribe demand, including the date it occurred and the conditions under which it was demanded.
“The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met with them at their office on Friday, January 5, 2024, as a prerequisite to our meeting with the House of Representatives. They alluded to the fact that we had to comply with whatever the House members instructed us to do.
“At the House meeting, there were three members present. Two of them were Peter Akpanke and Philip Agbese, both working under the leadership of Ginger Obinna Onwusibe. There was a third House member, but I don’t recall his name. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in. 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.”
