Nigeria dismisses the bribery claim made by the CEO of Binance as a “diversionary tactic”

The CEO of Binance made accusations on Wednesday, but Nigerian authorities refuted them, calling them a “diversionary tactic” and a “act of blackmail” meant to undermine current criminal investigations against the company.

The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, and two of its executives are being tried separately on allegations of tax evasion and money laundering exceeding $35 million. The business is contesting these allegations.

American citizen Tigran Gambaryan, who oversees financial crime compliance for Binance, is still detained, while Kenyan-British national Nadeem Anjarwalla has left the nation.

In a blog post, CEO Richard Teng accused unnamed Nigerian officials of requesting a $150 million bitcoin bribe in order to stop the investigations.

Nigeria’s Information Ministry spokesman Rabiu Ibrahim stated in a statement on Wednesday that the allegations “lack any iota of substance”. He charged Binance with trying to sabotage the nation’s legal system.

“It is nothing but a diversionary tactic and an attempted act of blackmail by a company desperate to obfuscate the grievous criminal charges it is facing in Nigeria,” Ibrahim stated.

“The facts of this matter remain that Binance is being investigated in Nigeria for allowing its platform to be used for money laundering, terrorism financing, and foreign exchange manipulation through illegal trading,” he stated.

Citing similar legal issues in the US, Nigerian officials assert that Binance is using the bribery charges as part of a larger effort to undermine the company’s investigations.

Although Binance did not respond right away, it accused Nigeria in a statement on Tuesday of creating a dangerous precedent when its officials were jailed as part of a crackdown on the cryptocurrency business after being invited for negotiations.

The latest in a conflict that has already forced Binance to close in Nigeria is Teng’s blog.
When cryptocurrency websites became the go-to venues for trading the Nigerian naira amid the nation’s ongoing dollar scarcity, Nigeria held Binance responsible for its currency woes.

Early in March, Binance announced that it was ceasing all naira transactions and trading.