Binance Chief, Gambaryan, Insists Reps Demanded $150 Million Bribe

Binance’s Head of Financial Crimes Compliance, Tigran Gambaryan, has reiterated his allegation that some members of the House of Representatives demanded a bribe of $150 million to secure his release.

Recall that Naija News reported that Gambaryan disclosed that he was released because the then United States President, Joe Biden, gave his release as a condition to meet with President Bola Tinubu during last year’s United Nations General Assembly.

In a statement on his 𝕏 handle, on Friday, titled ‘Some Unknown Facts’, the Binance Chief alleged that in collaboration with Department of State Sevices (DSS), House members, Peter Akpanke, Philip Agbese and Ginger Obinna Onwusibe demanded $150 million bribe from him to be paid in cryptocurrency to their wallets.

“The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met with them at their office on Friday, January 5, 2024, as a prerequisite to our meeting with the House of Representatives. They alluded to the fact that we had to comply with whatever the House members instructed us to do.

“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. As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best,” he stated.

$26 Billion Not Missing From Nigeria

The Binance Executive also explained that the allegation from Nigerian government that the country lost $26 billion was a false claim.

He claimed that the federal government’s claim of investigating the missing money was false too. He stated that no money left Nigeria.

“Nuhu Ribadu invited us to the official meeting and worked through Sa’ad Abubakar. Another key figure in this situation was Hamma Adama Belloji. Ogunjobi was just a pawn; they used him too. This was a sold as a friendly meeting with the NSA, the head of the SEC, and the CBN governor and include the discussion of the bribe that was solicited by the House of Representatives.

“The $26 billion figure they kept pushing publicly as some mystery money escaping Nigeria is complete BS (bull shit). This information was provided in response to their request and was simply cumulative trade data for Nigerians on the platform. This money didn’t leave Nigeria—it was just people buying and selling crypto. For example, if you trade $100 a hundred times, that’s $10,000 in trade volume, but in reality, you only used $100. Again, just another example of them lying to cover up their BS (bull shit) investigation,” he stated.

Ribadu Demanded Money to Fund His Political Ambition

Another allegation from Gambaryan was that the nation’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, demanded money to fund his political ambition.

Binance’s Head of Financial Crimes Compliance further alleged Ribadu overstepped his authority and overrated his international influence in his case.

He continued, “Ribadu emphasized that he wanted billions in payouts to fund his future political ambition. However, when the corruption scandal came to light, he was trapped—because any settlement would now be perceived as a bribe. I guess he really wanted his boss’ job :)

“Ribadu even hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate my release, but this failed due to their incompetence and greed.
Looking at you Idayat Hassan.

“Ribadu overstepped his authority and embarrassed Nigeria in front of U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Ribadu acting like an asshole angered the White House and led to diplomatic repercussions—the U.S. limited visas to the Nigerian delegation for UNGA, and Biden refused to meet with Tinubu until my situation was resolved.

“In the end, Ribadu overestimated his influence. They thought they could secure a quick win, but instead, they created an international incident, exposing his incompetence on a global scale.

“That’s it’s for me for now. I don’t want to dwell on this, but it’s important for Nigerians to get the facts. I met amazing people in Nigeria. It’s a shame that these muppets are in charge.”