By Yusuf Olukokun
Binance Holdings Limited, a global cryptocurrency platform, has rigidly accused Nigerian Government Officials of demanding for bribe to make its money laundering case ‘go away’.
Following the clampdown on Binance, a global cryptocurrency platform by Nigerian authorities and the arrest of its two officials, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crime; and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan, for laundering about $35million, a suit which has been filed by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
However, Bloomberg has reported that Richard Teng, Binance Chief Executive Officer, made a post in a blog, explaining how the global cryptocurrency exchange tried to make a move to engage Nigerian authorities of which a meeting was even held in Abuja on January 8 2024, to that effect.
“As our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations,” Teng explained.
Richard Teng said as Binance Officials were leaving the venue of the meeting, they were confronted by some government officials to pay, in order to settle the allegations of money laundering.
“As our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations.”
He said further that Binance lawyers were intercepted and instructed to make the payment in cryptocurrency within 48-hours to make the issue ‘go away’.
The spokesman for Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyaw, stated that,”Investigators are confident that the sequence of events is not as Binance has indicated, nor the material facts”.
“It will of course be for the courts to decide, and for due process to be followed and justice delivered,” he mentioned.