The Federal Government has dismissed claims by Tigran Gambaryan, the executive of cryptocurrency platform, Binance Holdings Limited, who was detained by security agencies in 2024 on charges.
Gambaryan was detained for 10 months for alleged tax evasion and other offences.
He was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on April 8, 2024, on a five-count charge of tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering to the tune of $34.4 million at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
In October last year, the court ordered Gambaryan’s release after the government dropped money laundering charges against him.
He left the country on October 25 last year.
In a lengthy post on social media on Friday, the Binance executive alleged that several members of the House of Representatives arranged a meeting and demanded a $150 million bribe to be paid in cryptocurrency into their wallets.
He also mentioned the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, in the shady deals.
However, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, described American’s claims as outrageous falsehoods and urged Nigerians to disregard them entirely.
He berated the Binance executive for embarking on a deliberate misinformation campaign.
The statement read: “The Federal Government of Nigeria notes with concern the outrageous allegations, misinformation, and defamatory statements being disseminated by Tigran Gambaryan, an American personnel of Binance who was recently tried in Nigeria for financial crimes.
“The first visit by Mr. Gambaryan and his colleagues to Nigeria was discretional on their part and the government was not officially involved.
“However, when the attention of the government was called to an alleged bribery demand during that trip, an investigation was immediately opened into it though there was no formal complaint by anyone.
“Mr. Gambaryan’s second visit to Nigeria was part of a wider probe into the criminal manipulation of the Nigerian currency through peer-to-peer platforms like Binance, but investigators were frustrated by the tactics deployed by Gambaryan and his team.
“Mr. Gambaryan was released by the Nigerian government in October 2024 on humanitarian grounds and following a high-level diplomatic intervention that ended with tangible benefits for Nigeria.
“The government rejected Binance’s offer of a $5 million down payment in exchange for Mr. Gambaryan’s freedom, in favour of a more beneficial settlement with the American government.
“We categorically deny the retaliatory claims made by Gambaryan against Nigerian officials involved in his case, and we urge the public to disregard these false accusations in their entirety.”
