Cryptocurrency company Binance has alleged that Nigerian government officials demanded a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency to resolve criminal charges against the company.
The accusation was made by Binance Chief Executive Officer, Richard Teng, in a blog post published by the New York Times.
According to the NYT report, Tigran Gambaryan, a compliance officer with Binance, received a message in January demanding the payment. Gambaryan understood the message as a request for a bribe from someone in the Nigerian government.
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The incident allegedly took place before Gambaryan and a colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested and detained on the orders of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Anjarwalla subsequently escaped and has been traced to Kenya.
In response, the spokesman for the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, assured that the Federal Government will follow due process. Mijinyawa said the government would make its case “on the strength of the facts and evidence, in accordance with due process.”
