Nigerian Govt Accuses Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan Of False Bribery Claims

The Nigerian government has dismissed corruption allegations made by Binance’s head of financial crime, Tigran Gambaryan, calling them false and baseless.

The former Binance executive, who was detained in Nigeria for several months,  claimed that Nigerian lawmakers demanded a $150 million bribe to prevent his prosecution.

Tigran Gambaryan, who made these allegations in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), also accused Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, of attempting to profit from Binance’s legal troubles.

He alleged that Ribadu hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate his release from detention, but the effort failed due to “incompetence and greed.”

Gambaryan also alleged that Nigerian authorities sought access to citizens’ cryptocurrency data to target opposition figures accused of manipulating the naira.

In a statement on Friday, Minister of Information Mohammed Idris said Gambaryan’s claims were unsubstantiated and aimed at discrediting officials involved in his case.

Idris denied all accusations and urged the public to disregard them, stressing that the government had investigated the bribery claims but did not reveal the outcome.

The minister insisted that Nigeria and the U.S. judicial systems would fairly assess Gambaryan’s claims.

He urged the public to remain cautious and not be misled by what he described as unfounded accusations.

The statement reads: “Disregard Falsehoods Being Peddled by Tigran Gambaryan against Nigerian Government Officials – FG

“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.

While the Federal Government of Nigeria is reluctant to engage Mr. Gambaryan, due to the high-level diplomatic intervention that resolved his case, we are compelled to set the record straight to prevent his falsehoods from gaining traction.

The first visit of Mr. Gambaryan and his colleagues to Nigeria was at their own discretion, and the Government was not officially involved. However, when the Government’s attention was drawn to an alleged bribery demand during that trip, an investigation was immediately launched, despite there being no formal complaint from 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 Mr. Gambaryan against Nigerian officials involved in his case, and we urge the public to disregard these false accusations in their entirety.

It is essential to note that Mr. Gambaryan’s allegations are not only unsubstantiated but also lack credibility, given his apparent motive to discredit and intimidate those who ensured he faced justice.

However, we are confident that both the Nigerian and American judicial systems will provide Mr. Gambaryan with a fair opportunity to substantiate his claims in court. Until then, we advise the public to exercise caution and not be swayed by Mr. Gambaryan’s unfounded and malicious claims.”

KanyiDaily recalls that Tigran Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained in 2024 on allegations of money laundering and enabling criminal activities through Binance.

While Anjarwalla escaped custody in March, Gambaryan remained in detention until October when the charges were dropped following U.S. government intervention.