The head of financial crime at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, has accused three Nigerian lawmakers of demanding a $150 million bribe to halt his prosecution.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Gambaryan identified the lawmakers as Ginger Obinna Onwusibe, chairman of the House Committee on Anti-Corruption, Philip Agbese, deputy spokesperson of the House, and Peter Akpanke.
According to Mr. Gambaryan, the bribe demand was made during a meeting on January 5, 2024, involving officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the House of Representatives members.
> “At the House meeting, there were three members present. Two of them were Peter Akpanke and Philip Agbese, both working under the leadership of Ginger Obinna Onwusibe. There was a third House member, but I don’t recall his name. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in.”
He further alleged that the lawmakers demanded the $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency, to be sent to their personal wallets.
Mr. Gambaryan had been detained in Nigeria for months over allegations of money laundering and promoting criminality, but was released after U.S. government intervention led to the charges being dropped.
Efforts to get reactions from the accused lawmakers are ongoing, though the House of Representatives has previously denied any bribery allegations related to Binance.
