BRIBERY ALLEGATION: Binance CEO Claims Unknown Nigerian Officials Sought a Bribe from its Executives

 

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Binance, Richard Teng, has claimed that some unknown persons sought a bribe of cryptocurrency from its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, before their detention on February 28, 2024.

Teng made the claim in a blog post on Monday, detailing how the Binance executives tried to engage with Nigerian authorities before they were accused of criminal acts.

He said the meeting was set up with the Nigeria government through a committee consisting of about “30 agencies.” He noted that the committee emphasized the serious nature of the meeting and their readiness to issue arrest warrants and restrict travel for Binance’s team.

Nonetheless, it was found that the committee comes up short on real position to issue an arrest warrants. The gathering was subsequently shifted to January 11, 2024, Teng said.

 The CEO stated that around the same time, January 8, a few unknown persons requested for the attention of their representatives looking for pay-offs. He said,

“As our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations.

 “Later that day, our local counsel — representing us at that time — was summoned by the committee through someone purporting to be their agent, who relayed the committee’s terms and instructed our local counsel to advise us.

“Counsel reported back that he had been presented with a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away.

Teng said, “Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed. We, of course, declined the payment demand via our counsel, not viewing it to be a legitimate settlement offer”.

 

FIRS charge against Binance

The Federal Inland Revenue Administration (FIRS) in Abuja has taken a judicial action against the cryptocurrency exchange "Binance", claiming four occasions of tax avoidance.

The charge against Binance includes the non-settlement of value added tax (VAT), company income tax (CIT), non-compliance with tax return filing obligations, and facilitating tax evasion for its users.

Furthermore, in the lawsuit, the Federal Government charged Binance with not registering for tax purposes with the FIRS and violating the country’s tax laws.

All parties involved have pleaded not guilty to all charges, as the case is adjourned till May 17 by the Federal High Court in Abuja.