Following allegations of corruption and demand for bribe against some lawmakers by an executive of crypto exchange firm, Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, the heat has been toned up as one of the accused lawmakers, and Deputy Spokesperson for the House, Philip Agbese has challenged the Binance executive to make available, evidence of his claim.
In an X (formerly Twitter) message, Gambaryan accused Peter Akpanke, Philip Agbese and heads the House of Representatives Committee on anti-corruption, Ginger Obinna Onwusibe of demanding a $150 million bribe from him
It will be recalled that Gambaryan and another Binance official were detained by the Nigerian government which accused their firm of money laundering and encouraging criminality in Nigeria. He was however discharged by a Federal High Court in October 2024 after the government dropped the charges against him following the intervention of the US government.
Gambaryan narrated the circumstance: “The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met with them at their office on Friday, January 5, 2024, as a prerequisite to our meeting with the House of Representatives. They alluded to the fact that we had to comply with whatever the House members instructed us to do.”
He continued: “At the House meeting, there were three members present. Two of them were Peter Akpanke and Philip Agbese, both working under the leadership of Ginger Obinna Onwusibe. There was a third House member, but I don’t recall his name. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in. As you may already know, this ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best.”
The Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, subsequently denied the allegations against him by Gambaryan, demanding that he provide evidence or retract his claims within seven days or face legal action.
Agbese, who issued a statement in Abuja dismissing the claims as baseless and an attempt to tarnish his reputation, said: “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 apologized.”
He also clarified that he is not a member of the House Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes, explaining that his only interaction with Binance representatives occurred when he visited his colleague, Hon. Peter Ankpanke, during a meeting involving the Committee.
“It was during this visit to Hon. Peter Ankpanke’s office, with Hon. Peter Anekwe present, that I learned they were interfacing with the Binance team over a referral to their Committee,” he explained. “I never saw those visitors again after that chance meeting and did not attend any further meetings with Binance executives, the EFCC, or the DSS.”
The lawmaker threatened legal action if Gambaryan fails to provide evidence of his claims.
