Crime
BREAKING: Reps Philip Agbese, Ginger Onwusibe, Peter Akpanke demanded $150 million bribe to stop my arrest – Binance’s Gambaryan says
A Cruptocurrency Exchange Binance Executive, Tigran Gambaryan, has insisted that three members of the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly, Hon. Philip Agbese, Ginger Onwusibe and Peter Akpanke demanded for $150 million bribe to stop his arrest and prosecution.
Gambaryan insisted that the lawmakers actually demanded for bribe from him, stating that denials by the lawmakers were face-saying that Nigerian government’s denial was unfortunate.
The Binance executive had earlier been arrested and detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on allegation of money laundering, and in a post on his verified X handle, former Twitter, accused Philip Agbese, Ginger Onwusibe, and Peter Akpanke, of demanding for bribe during his travail.
According to him, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu made attempt to benefit from the controversy between Binance and Nigerian government.
In his post, Ribadu alleged that the NSA engaged a “U.S. law firm to negotiate his release, but the attempt failed due to what he described as “incompetence and greed.”
“Ribadu emphasized that he wanted billions in payouts to fund his future political ambition. However, when the corruption scandal came to light, he was trapped—because any settlement would now be perceived as a bribe. I guess he really wanted his boss’ job,” he had said.
The Binance Executive declared on Saturday that his statement concerning the public officials are true and factual, adding that he had shared the statement with Nigerian and United States law enforcement agents for enforcement.
Gambaryan posted again on X, insisting that his claims were based on direct knowledge and personal experience. “What I shared was factual, based on my personal experiences and conversations with those who have direct knowledge of the events I discussed; information that was shared with both Nigerian and U.S. law enforcement,” he wrote.
He added that it was now up to the authorities in both countries to investigate and bring the matter to a logical conclusion.
He added, “I am no longer in law enforcement. The responsibility of seeing this through to a logical conclusion now falls on those still serving in United States and Nigeria.
“Many requested that I stay on and provide further commentary on the issues I posted about yesterday (Friday). Here’s the hard truth: what I shared was meant to fill in the gaps left by Wired and NPR’s reporting.
“The reality is that last year was incredibly painful for me and my family. I dedicated my life to fighting crime as a Special Agent with the United States Department of the Treasury and as a compliance professional. It was an honour to serve my country and it was a blessing that they came to my rescue and mobilised the full force of the US Government when I was in need.
“Being dragged through court on outrageous, baseless, and trumped-up charges didn’t just hurt me, it also brought immense pain to my family.
Philip Agbese Peter Akpanke, Ginger Onwusibe
“I don’t want to see my kids cry because I’m not around. I don’t want to see videos of my 75-year-old mother on television in tears. I don’t want to see my wife crying on TV. I want to put this nightmare behind me and move on.”
Gambaryan, a former U.S. Treasury Department Special Agent, and Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla were detained in Nigeria after the government accused Binance of money laundering and facilitating financial crimes.
Anjarwalla escaped custody months before Gambaryan’s release, but following pressure from the U.S. government, Nigerian authorities dropped all charges against Gambaryan in October 2024. He was eventually freed and allowed to return home.
