The Nigerian government has denied the allegations made by Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, claiming that its officials demanded a $150 million bribe to settle the criminal charges against the crypto exchange.
In an official statement released on Wednesday, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Rabiu Ibrahim, dismissed the claims as baseless.
Ibrahim stated that the allegations were part of a coordinated effort by Binance to discredit the Nigerian government and divert attention away from the charges the company is currently facing in the country.
“This claim by Binance CEO lacks any iota of substance. It is nothing but a diversionary tactic and an attempted act of blackmail by a company desperate to obfuscate the grievous criminal charges it is facing in Nigeria. The facts of this matter remain that Binance is being investigated in Nigeria for allowing its platform to be used for money laundering, terrorism financing, and foreign exchange manipulation through illegal trading,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Teng had published a blog post that called out the Nigerian government for unjustly detaining two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla.
In the blog post, Teng claimed that Binance had been approached by unnamed Nigerian government officials who demanded to be secretly paid $150 million in cryptocurrency to halt investigations into the company’s activities. Teng urged the authorities to release Tigran Gambaryan, who had been detained for over 70 days.
Continuing in his statement, Ibrahim stated that the government’s investigations will not be deterred by Binance’s claims, which he describes as “blackmail”.
“We would like to remind Binance that it will not clear its name in Nigeria by resorting to fictional claims and mudslinging media campaigns. The only way to resolve its issues will be by submitting itself to unobstructed investigation and judicial due process… The government of Nigeria will continue to act within its laws and international norms and will not succumb to any form of blackmail from any entity, local or foreign,” Ibrahim said.