Reps criticize Binance for alleged bribes

The claim made by the massive cryptocurrency exchange Binance that certain authorities requested a $150 million bribe to settle the criminal complaint brought against the company has been characterized by the federal government as blackmail.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, rejected the allegations as unfounded and part of Binance’s larger effort to avoid responsibility for purportedly illegal actions.

Richard Teng, the CEO of Binance, charged that anonymous people were acting on behalf of government representatives in order to seek $150 million in cryptocurrency in order to settle the tax evasion and money laundering case brought against the company and its officials.

Teng said that unidentified individuals made the bribe demand to Binance officials soon after they met with politicians on January 8, 2024, in a post that was published by the New York Times on Tuesday.

However, contrary to what the CEO of Binance implied, the House of Representatives denied receiving or soliciting bribes from the cryptocurrency company.

The MPs insisted that their committees did not meet with the executives of Binance, as Teng had claimed, and warned that the accusation may damage the House’s reputation and those of its members.

Teng, in his article, however, claimed that the purported agent demanded “a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make the issues go away.”

In response to the accusations, the minister emphasized that Binance would not give in to pressure or blackmail and stated that the investigation into the company in Nigeria was focused on claims of money laundering, financing of terrorism, and unlawful trading activities made possible by its platform.

Idris, in the statement issued by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, contended that the allegations lacked “any evidence and are merely a diversionary tactic employed by Binance to deflect attention from the serious charges it faces in the country.”

The minister said, “This claim by Binance CEO lacks an 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.

“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.”

As a result, the government promised to deal with the legal concerns pertaining to Binance’s activities in the nation.

He went on, “The Nigerian government will not yield to any kind of blackmail from any entity, local or foreign, and will continue to act within its laws and international norms.”

Additionally, Kama Nkemkanma, a representative from the House of Representatives, raised a “point of privilege” during Wednesday’s plenary, claiming that the House had never met with executives or agents of Binance.

“This House must never allow itself to be talked down to,” he declared, urging the MPs to treat the accusation with seriousness.

Following his remarks, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas asked the House Clerk to take notice.

“We have to disprove this accusation using all of the media at our disposal. That kind of event has never occurred. He continued, “This man has never been involved with a House committee.

The House also decided to look into Mr. Nadeem Anjarwalla’s (the bitcoin exchange company’s Head of the African Region) inexplicable escape from the National Security Adviser’s custody.

Abbas directed the Interior, National Security and Intelligence, and Financial Crimes committees to conduct an investigation and submit a report to the House within a fortnight.

The committees were also instructed by the House to look into the individuals who were a part of the incident.

The instruction came about as a result of a motion made by Mr. Dominic Okafor, the member representing the Aguata Federal Constituency in Anambra State.

Initiating the discussion, Okafor stated that Anjarwalla had been detained and arrested by the Federal Government on February 26, 2024, on suspicion of money laundering and financing terrorism.

According to him, “The two Binance executives were billed to appear in court on April 4, 2024, to answer to the alleged crimes against Nigeria before the security breach occurred, which led to the escape of one of the company’s executives in a very scandalous dimension.

“The persons suspected to have committed such atrocious crimes against the state of Nigeria with already over-burdened security challenges were kept in a guest house in Abuja, instead of lawful custody of the Department of State Service or any other approved custodial facility.

“The escape of the Binance executive from the Office of the National Security Adviser using a ‘smuggled passport’ is, to say the least, most disappointing, embarrassing and disturbing as it portrays the porosity of the security architecture of the country to the world.

“Weeks after the unfortunate escape and inability of the security forces to re-arrest Nadeem Anjarwalla, the Kenyan Police arrested him on April 22, 2024, as the International Criminal Police Organisation moved to extradite him to Nigeria soon to face the allegation levelled against the company.”