On Friday, the Federal Government dismissed the claims by Binance’s Head of Financial Crime, Tigran Gambaryan, who spent eight months in a Nigerian detention facility over alleged corruption.
Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, was last year (2024) tried in Nigeria for financial crimes. He was released by the Nigerian authorities following intervention by the United States government.
In a post on X, he claimed that his unlawful arrest by the Nigerian government made former US President Joe Biden avoid a meeting he planned to have with President Bola Tinubu during the 2024 UN General Assembly (UNGA).
He blamed National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu for the situation and said the US government also reduced the size of the Nigerian delegation that could attend the annual global assembly. The Binance executive also identified three Nigerian lawmakers who allegedly demanded a bribe of $150m from him.
However, the Federal Government urged the public to disregard the allegations entirely.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, described Gambaryan’s claims as a deliberate misinformation campaign.
“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 statement read.
“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.”
Idris said the government stated that it was compelled to set the record straight to prevent falsehoods from gaining traction.
The minister also addressed Gambaryan’s claims of bribery attempt, stressing that his initial visit to Nigeria was entirely discretionary and not sanctioned by any government entity.
According to him, an investigation was promptly initiated after the alleged incident was brought to the government’s attention.
“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,” he stated.
The Federal Government detained Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British Kenyan who serves as the regional manager for Africa at Binance.
Both were charged with money laundering involving $35 million, as initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Anjarwalla managed to escape from custody on March 22, 2024.