“We Did Not Mention Bribe”: Binance Speaks on Recent Allegation Involving Nigerian Officials
- Binance has refuted the claim that it specified any amount in its blog post about Nigerian officials allegedly demanding payment
- The company revealed that it stands by its blog post in which it says it was asked to pay an unspecified amount to make the case die
- The firm also flagged a report that said stakeholders asked it to disclose the identities of those behind the demand as containing inaccurate information
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Binance has doubled down on its report that some Nigerian officials demanded that the company pay an unspecified amount to make its case with the Nigerian government disappear.
Binance was reacting to a story that Nigerian stakeholders demanded that the cryptocurrency platform disclose the identities of the people behind the demand.
Source: Twitter
Binance refutes more allegations
In an email to Legit.ng, the company said it was not contacted for comments before the story was published and stated that it wanted to flag the report to correct some misinformation.
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“We wanted to flag some incorrect information in the article and have contacted Bloomberg for a correction.
“We were not contacted for comment by Bloomberg, and we believe it is important for your articles to be updated to fairly reflect this,” the company said.
Binance reiterated its earlier stance that it was asked to pay a certain sum to clear its case with the Nigerian government.
“We stand behind what we said in our blog,” a Binance Spokesperson told Legit.ng
Binance said:
“We would also like to highlight strictly on background that in the blog post, we did not mention a “bribe” or reference any specific amount. If anything, that should be attributed to the New York Times article.
According to Binance, its officials were ambushed by the Nigerian government when they were invited for negotiations. The company stated that the action had set a bad precedent for companies globally.
“To invite a company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”
“It is important to note that Tigran did not go to Nigeria as a “decision-maker” nor “a negotiator.” He was merely acting as a functional expert in financial crime and capacity building in policy discussions,” the firm said.
FG reacts to Binance allegations
Reacting to the crypto firm's allegations, the Nigerian government called them diversionary and asked the company to come clean.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, dismissed the bribery allegation as distracting.
The Minister said that the claims were false and lacked substance.
He asked the company to submit itself to due judicial process instead of embarking on fictional claims and misleading media campaigns.
The statement said:
“In a blog post that has now been published by many international media organizations, in an apparent well-coordinated public relations effort, Binance Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng made false allegations of bribery against unidentified Nigerian government officials who he claimed demanded $150m in cryptocurrency payments to resolve the ongoing criminal investigation against the company.”
FG speaks as Binance CEO alleges Nigerian officials asked for payment
Legit.ng earlier reported that Binance Holdings Limited has said Nigerian government officials demanded a significant amount to make its problems with the government disappear.
The development came as the company called for the release of its official, who was still detained in Nigeria.
Binance CEO Richard Teng disclosed this in a blog post, detailing how the crypto company tried to interface with the Nigerian authorities, including a January meeting in Abuja, where the government presented it with criminal allegations.
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Source: Legit.ng
