1 week ago
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Philip Agbese, a member of the House of Representatives, has denied bribery allegations made against him by Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited.
In a post on X on Friday, Gambaryan recounted his experiences with some Nigerian lawmakers, claiming that three legislators, including Peter Akpanke and Agbese, demanded a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency, to be paid into their personal wallets.
Gambaryan was detained by the Nigerian government from February to October 2024 over Binance’s activities in the country, while the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes also conducted an investigation into the cryptocurrency firm.
Reacting to the allegations in a statement, Agbese dismissed the claims, stating that he was not a member of the committee and had never demanded a bribe from Binance.
“I am outraged by the false allegations made by Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of the controversial crypto firm Binance, claiming that I was among those who demanded a $150 million bribe from him,” the statement read.
“These allegations are false. I was not part of any meeting with any Binance executive regarding money for any purpose. The leadership of the committee took the matter to court, and Binance has already apologised.
“Let it be on record that I am not a member of the Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes. I visited my colleague, Hon. Peter Akpanke, in his office, where he was meeting with some visitors about an activity of his committee, with Hon. Peter Anekwe, a member of the committee, present.
“We exchanged pleasantries and, in character with my person as an avid pursuer of knowledge, discussed Binance’s activities, which did not include any demand from anyone.
“It was during this visit to the office of Hon. Peter Akpanke, with Hon. Peter Anekwe present, that he told me they were interfacing with the Binance team from abroad over a referral to their committee.
“What transpired between the two of them and the Binance executive after I left the office is left to them. I never saw those visitors again after that chance meeting and did not afterwards attend any meeting with Binance executives, the EFCC, or the DSS.
“I am aware that when this issue was first raised, the chairman of the committee went to court and Binance apologised. So, all inquiries should be directed to the committee, not to Hon. Philip Agbese.”
Agbese further stated that he has never been involved in cryptocurrency trading, does not own a crypto wallet, and therefore could not have requested funds to be deposited into a “non-existent wallet.”
He called on Gambaryan to either publish evidence linking him to the bribery accusation, apologise within seven days, or face legal action.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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