Binance’s Tigran Gambaryan Alleges Nigerian Lawmakers Demanded $150M Bribe

Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s head of financial crime, has accused three Nigerian lawmakers of demanding a $150 million bribe during his detention in the country.

Gambaryan, along with another Binance official, Nadeem Anjarwalla, was held by Nigerian authorities on allegations of money laundering and enabling criminal activity. He was released after the U.S. government intervened, leading to the charges being dropped.

Bribery Allegations Against Lawmakers

While in custody, Gambaryan claimed that certain lawmakers approached him with a bribe request in exchange for his release. In a post on X on Friday, February 14, he named Peter Akpanke, Philip Agbese, and Ginger Obinna Onwusibe as those involved.

Some Unknown Facts- you can read the rest in the Wired article and the NPR story.

The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met with them at their office on Friday, January 5, 2024, as a prerequisite to our meeting with the House of Representatives. They…

— Tigran Gambaryan (@TigranGambaryan) February 14, 2025

He alleged that during a House meeting, these legislators staged a formal setting with non-functional cameras to make it appear official.

“At the House meeting, there were three members present. Two of them were Peter Akpanke and Philip Agbese, both working under the leadership of Ginger Obinna Onwusibe. There was a third House member, but I don’t recall his name. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in. As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best,” Gambaryan stated.

Disputed Claims and Privacy Concerns

The Binance official further alleged that Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS), also called the DSS, was involved in the meeting. Addressing claims of $26 billion leaving Nigeria, he dismissed the figure as misleading, explaining that it simply represented the total trade volume on Binance by Nigerian users.

Gambaryan also refuted Nigerian lawmakers’ claims that Anjarwalla escaped during mosque prayers, clarifying that he returned before fleeing at a later time. He revealed that Anjarwalla had contacted him via email in November and speculated that he might have paid someone off, although he lacked proof.

Additionally, Gambaryan accused the Nigerian government of pressuring Binance to violate international privacy laws by demanding user data for all Nigerians. He suggested that authorities wanted to use the information to target opposition figures for allegedly manipulating the naira.

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