Hon. Ginger Obinna Onwusibe, a Nigerian lawmaker and chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes, has strongly denied claims that he and other committee members demanded bribes from Binance. He described these allegations as false, malicious, and defamatory.
Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, recently accused three Nigerian lawmakers of demanding a $150 million bribe.
He claimed the bribe was meant to stop security agencies from acting against Binance. Gambaryan named Onwusibe, Philip Agbese, and Peter Akpanke as the lawmakers involved.
The accusations surfaced in a post on Gambaryan’s verified X (formerly Twitter) account. Additionally, two articles—one on NPR and another on WIRED—reported similar claims.
In a statement titled “Limited Reaction to False, Malicious and Defamatory Publications Against Me by Tigran Gambaryan of Binance”, Onwusibe firmly denied any involvement in bribery.
He stated that neither he nor his committee asked Binance for bribes on behalf of any person or organization.
Onwusibe also refuted claims of coordination between his committee and Nigeria’s Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), or the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Onwusibe explained that the committee received a petition in December 2023 from a civil society group accusing Binance of financial crimes.
As part of the investigation, the committee invited Binance’s Managing Director, Richard Teng, to testify in a public hearing.
Before the scheduled hearing on January 10, 2024, Binance requested a pre-hearing meeting to better understand the allegations. This meeting took place on January 8, 2024, but Onwusibe stated he was not present due to other commitments.
Onwusibe noted that he has already taken legal action against Binance and its CEO, Richard Teng, in a Nigerian court. He argued that Binance’s allegations have changed over time, creating inconsistencies in their claims.
Initially, the company stated that “unknown persons” demanded bribes after the meeting, but Gambaryan later alleged the demands happened during the meeting itself.
The lawmaker assured Nigerians that he would take all legal steps necessary to clear his name and protect his reputation.
