Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of attempting to access the private data of Nigerian users to target opposition figures, including members of the PDP, Labour Party, and other political groups.
Gambaryan, who was detained in Nigeria for eight months, made the revelation on Friday via X (formerly Twitter), describing the actions of Nigerian lawmakers and security agencies as a “Mickey Mouse operation” aimed at diverting attention from the country’s economic crisis.
Allegations Against the Nigerian Government
Gambaryan detailed a January 5, 2024 meeting with the Department of State Services (DSS), where officials allegedly pressured Binance to comply with demands from the House of Representatives. He claimed the government sought to fabricate a case blaming Binance for an alleged $26 billion outflow from Nigeria.
He wrote:
“The DSS was involved in the House of Representatives matter. We met them on January 5 as a prerequisite for our meeting with the House. They told us we had to comply with whatever House members instructed us to do.”
Gambaryan accused House members, including Peter Akpanke, Philip Agbese, and Ginger Obinna Onwusibe, of staging a fake official meeting with unplugged cameras. He alleged that they demanded a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency to resolve Binance’s troubles in Nigeria.
“This ended with them asking for a $150 million bribe, paid in cryptocurrency into their personal wallets. A Mickey Mouse operation at its best.”
He further claimed that top officials, including NSA Nuhu Ribadu, were involved in discussions about the bribe, which took place during meetings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Binance Was a Scapegoat”
According to Gambaryan, the $26 billion Binance-linked outflow repeatedly mentioned by officials was a misrepresentation of routine cryptocurrency transactions by Nigerians.
“This money didn’t leave Nigeria—it was just people buying and selling crypto. If you trade $100 a hundred times, that’s $10,000 in trade volume, but in reality, you only used $100. Another example of them lying to cover up their BS investigation.”
He also dismissed claims that Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance executive who escaped from custody in March 2024, fled during mosque prayers, stating that Nigerian authorities had lied about the circumstances.
Gambaryan further alleged that Nigerian officials attempted to breach international privacy laws by demanding user data on all Nigerians, ostensibly to crack down on opposition figures accused of “manipulating the price of the naira.”
“They knew that the naira’s devaluation was caused by Tinubu’s monetary policy, which depegged the naira from the dollar. Instead of admitting this, they used Binance as a scapegoat.”
Background: Binance and the Nigerian Government
In February 2024, Nigerian authorities arrested Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla on allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, accusing Binance of manipulating foreign exchange rates.
After months of detention, Anjarwalla escaped from custody in March, leaving Gambaryan to face the charges alone. In May 2024, Binance CEO Richard Teng revealed that unidentified Nigerian officials demanded $150 million in digital currency to resolve the company’s legal troubles.
The Nigerian government dismissed the allegation as blackmail but later dropped money laundering charges against Gambaryan in October 2024 following pressure from the U.S. government. Shortly after, he was allowed to leave Nigeria.
