The Nigerian House of Representatives has move to tackle Binance following the allegations of bribery made by the crypto exchange’s CEO, Richard Teng.
In a social media post on Tuesday, May 7, Teng accused certain members of the House’s Committee on Financial Crimes of soliciting money from Binance representatives during a meeting at the National Assembly Complex in January. He further stated that his team was later approached by unidentified individuals suggesting a payment to resolve the allegations.
During today’s plenary session on May 8, 2024, Kama NkemKanma, a member of the House Committee on Financial Crimes, vehemently refuted Teng’s claims. He stated, “We have never invited this person before. This House has never had a meeting with this person before.”
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen echoed NkemKanma’s denial, emphasizing that no committee had engaged with Teng. He instructed the House Clerk, Yahaya Danzaria, to utilize available media channels to reject the allegations, underscoring the House’s zero-tolerance policy towards such accusations.
However, these assertions appear to contradict previous reports by local media outlet PREMIUM TIMES, which documented multiple interactions between the House Committee and Binance representatives.
In March 2024, the Nigerian Government initiated a lawsuit against Binance and two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, alleging violations of local tax regulations and other offences. Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were previously detained by local authorities upon their arrival in February 2024 following a request for discussions on regulatory compliance by the Government. Anjarwalla reportedly escaped custody and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the authorities, seeking the return of his passport, the release of his colleague, and a public apology.
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The legislators also resolved to investigate the circumstances surrounding Anjarwalla’s escape from custody. This resolution follows a motion of urgent public importance initiated by Representative Dennis Okafor during the plenary session, coming less than 24 hours after Binance CEO Richard Teng’s accusations and statement demanding the release of its second detained executive.
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