The Nigerian government has strongly refuted Binance’s bribery accusations, asserting that these claims are without any foundation and are just a ploy by the cryptocurrency company.
The federal government announced that it disregards the allegations released by Binance’s CEO, Richard Teng, that some Nigerian officials demanded a $150 million cryptocurrency payment from the company to settle the ongoing legal issues.
Binance claims that some Nigerian government officials demanded the bribe for the charges filed against the company to be settled. Nevertheless, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, dismissed these accusations as false.
In a statement made on Wednesday, Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant to the Minister, termed the claims “diversionary” and cited them as blackmail meant to obfuscate the criminal investigations into Binance in Nigeria.
The government is said to be investigating Binance for facilitating illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorism financing, and foreign exchange manipulation. The government also revealed that a high-ranking Binance executive who was in protective custody had fled Nigeria and was now wanted by Interpol.
Nigerian authorities have continued to argue that the bribery allegations against the crypto exchange are part of an internationally orchestrated plot to delegitimize Nigerian authorities. The statement stressed that the crypto exchange, which is under investigation and criminal prosecution in the US, is attempting to cleanse its reputation in Nigeria using baseless allegations and media slanders.
The government cited a case in a recent development in the United States where the founder and former CEO of Binance was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to some of the charges under investigation in Nigeria. Zhao agreed to pay a $50 million fine, while Binance faces $4.3 billion in fines and forfeitures.
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