In a recent development reported by COINOTAG News on February 16th, regulatory tensions surrounding Binance have escalated. Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Director of Financial Crime Compliance, reiterated allegations that a Nigerian legislator demanded a $150 million bribe to drop a lawsuit targeting the exchange. This claim echoes earlier statements made by Binance CEO Richard Teng, who indicated similar demands from a Nigerian lawmaker involved in financial oversight. In contrast, Nigeria’s Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, has dismissed these allegations as a “desperate attempt” by Binance to deflect from serious legal issues it is facing.
Furthermore, Gambaryan has pointed out the involvement of the Nigerian Department of State Services in this bribery allegation, maintaining that the Nigerian government’s claims of $26 billion in illicit fund transfers via Binance are unfounded. He argued that these figures represent merely the aggregate trading activities of Nigerian users on the platform, rather than nefarious financial misconduct, underscoring the complexities of navigating regulatory landscapes in the cryptocurrency sector.