The Nigerian government has strongly rejected Binance's allegations of bribery, Bloomberg reports.
Rabiu Ibrahim, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Information, has stated that Binance CEO Richard Teng made false statements, describing them as a "diversion tactic."
On Tuesday, Tang urged the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan, the crypto giant's compliance officer.
Gambaryan, a US citizen, was arrested in February, facing accusations of money laundering and tax evasion. He was detained alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, a regional manager for Binance in Africa. Anjarwalla has managed to escape from custody, but Gambaryan remains behind bars. The latter is currently awaiting trial, which is scheduled to start in June.
Yuri MolchanAccording to a BBC report, the Nigerian government also wanted Binance to pay a massive $10 billion fine, accusing the cryptocurrency giant of causing an economic crisis in the country with currency manipulation. In March, Binance removed the Nigerian naira from its peer-to-peer platform.
Earlier this week, the New York Times published a bombshell report detailing how someone in the Nigerian government was demanding a $150 million bribe from Binance. The bribe would make it possible to settle the allegations against Binance, which include bribery accusations.
In his statement, Teng claims that Binance denied the payment demand via its counsel since it was not a legitimate settlement offer.
Dan Burgin
Denys Serhiichuk
