Jonathan Nwokpor
According to reports, Binance Limited was offered a $150 million bitcoin bribe by the Nigerian government.
This was revealed on Tuesday by the New York Times in an article titled “Behind Nigeria’s Arrest of Binance Employee, Claims of a Bribe.”
According to the New York Times, which cited Richard Teng’s recent blog post regarding the allegations, the payment was demanded by an agent posing as a government official following a meeting between Nigerian politicians in January 2024, prior to the arrests of Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla in February.
According to the story, which cited Teng, the alleged agent requested “a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away.” That amount is said to be over $150 million.
“Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed,” Mr Teng wrote in his post. “We declined the payment demand via our counsel, not viewing it as a legitimate settlement offer.”
Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, was ordered to be arrested by the House of Representatives in March after he declined to accept the invitation in person.
Recall that Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of Central Nigeria, said $26 billion was transferred through Binance without a trace, which led to tensions between the Nigerian government and Binance.
Later, the Nigerian government imposed restrictions on Binance’s and other cryptocurrency platforms’ ability to operate.
Remember that the two Binance executives were detained in February following their attempt to have negotiations with the Nigerian authorities.
Gambaryan was charged with tax evasion and other charges in April despite the fact that Anjarwalla is still at large.
The matter was postponed until May 17, 2024.
The Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, recently delisted the Naira from peer-to-peer platforms like cryptocurrency businesses as part of its efforts to stabilise the currency.
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