Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has exposed details of his detention in Nigeria, claiming that three members of the House of Representatives attempted to extort a $150 million bribe from him in cryptocurrency.
Gambaryan, who was detained in January 2024, described the ordeal as a mix of corruption, deception, and political manipulation involving high-ranking officials, including National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
“The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. They instructed us to comply with whatever the House members demanded,” he stated. Gambaryan identified Peter Akpanke, Philip Agbese, and Ginger Obinna Onwusibe as the lawmakers behind the alleged bribe request.
A Secretly Orchestrated Meeting
According to Gambaryan, the lawmakers staged a fake official meeting, setting up cameras that were “not even plugged in.” The lawmakers allegedly pushed a false narrative about $26 billion in missing funds, which Gambaryan dismissed as a misrepresentation of crypto trade volume rather than actual funds leaving Nigeria.
He also accused Nigerian authorities of fabricating detention records, misleading international embassies, and attempting to force Binance into violating global privacy laws to track opposition figures allegedly affecting the naira’s exchange rate.
Gambaryan claims the detention of Binance executives was part of a broader scheme to deflect blame from economic policies that led to the naira’s decline. The revelations have intensified concerns over corruption, abuse of power, and Nigeria’s regulatory approach to cryptocurrency.
