Cryptocurrency firm Binance has accused President Bola Tinubu’s government officials of asking for a $150m bribe to terminate the money laundering charge against two of its employees.
Binance top executive Richard Teng writing in a blog posted on the firm’s website alleged that government officials are arm twisting the company to make the charges “go away.”
“Counsel reported back that he had been presented with a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away and that our decision was expected by the morning.
“Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed.
Teng said the payment request was declined “via our counsel, not viewing it to be a legitimate settlement offer”.
The CEO said Binance clarified that it would engage in settlement negotiations on the conditions that the relevant petition or the details of all allegations were seen, adding that any settlement “must be official, recorded in writing, and signed by all relevant parties”.
Binance and Nigeria have been locked in a fierce legal battle since Tigran Gambaryan, an official with the crypto giant, was arrested in February. National security adviser Nuhu Ribadu assumed responsibility for the detention, accusing the company of driving down the value of Nigerian naira, among other economic sabotage claims.
Binance has denied all the charges, and another official initially detained with Mr Gambaryan escaped custody days after they were detained.
Mr Gambaryan has been facing charges before a federal court in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, as his wife and children continue to mount pressure on U.S. authorities to help free the American citizen, whom they said did nothing wrong.
