In a shocking disclosure, Richard Teng, an executive at global cryptocurrency giant Binance, alleged that Nigerian government officials solicited bribes totaling $150 million. Teng revealed that these demands were made in a bid to quash recent fraud charges against Binance following a meeting with Nigerian lawmakers, purportedly orchestrated by the Tinubu administration.
“It’s a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away,” Teng stated in a blog post on Binance’s website, highlighting the urgency and clandestine nature of the alleged bribery request.
The accusations, which Teng and other Binance executives vehemently denied, characterized the demands as meritless and illegal. They emphasized their refusal to comply with any form of coercion or illegal payments.
“The message from the Nigerian government is clear,” Teng added. “We must detain an innocent, mid-level employee and a former U.S. federal agent, and place him in a dangerous prison in order to control Binance.”
Despite these serious allegations, responses from Nigerian national security agencies and parliament representatives were not immediately available for comment. The Nigerian parliament has initiated a committee to investigate the charges against Binance.
Binance, in prior statements, reiterated its stance of not yielding to ransom demands or bribery attempts. “We won’t yield to demand to pay a ransom over the matter,” a spokesperson for Binance had previously informed Peoples Gazette.
The legal saga between Binance and Nigeria escalated following the arrest of Tigran Gambaryan, an official with the company, in February. The detention, attributed to national security concerns and economic sabotage claims by Nigerian officials, has been vehemently denied by Binance.
Gambaryan’s family continues to seek support from U.S. authorities, emphasizing his innocence in the matter.
