SAT FEB 15 2025-theGBJournal| The Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) responded Friday with concern to what it describes as ”the outrageous allegations, uumisinformation, and defamatory statements” being disseminated by Tigran Gambaryan, an American personnel of Binance who was recently tried in Nigeria for financial crimes.
The Binance executive had accused Nigerian lawmakers of demanding $150 million bribe.
The FG is a statement said ”while it is hesitant to engage Mr. Gambaryan, given the high-level diplomatic intervention that resolved his case, we are obliged to set the records straight to stop his falsehoods from gaining grounds.”
In the statement, the FG narrated the circumstances leading to Mr. Gambaryan release from detention following the intervention of the U.S government.
”The first visit by Mr. Gambaryan and his colleagues to Nigeria was discretional on their part and Government was not officially involved. However, when the attention of the Government was called to an alleged bribery demand during that trip an investigation was immediately opened into it though there was no formal complaint by anyone.
Mr. Gambaryan’s second visit to Nigeria was part of a wider probe into the criminal manipulation of the Nigerian currency through peer-to-peer platforms like Binance, but investigators were frustrated by the tactics deployed by Gambaryan and his team.
Mr. Gambaryan was released by the Nigerian government in October 2024 on humanitarian grounds and following a high-level diplomatic intervention that ended with tangible benefits for Nigeria. The government rejected Binance’s offer of a $5 million down payment in exchange for Mr. Gambaryan’s freedom, in favour of a more beneficial settlement with the American government.
We categorically deny the retaliatory claims made by Mr. Gambaryan against Nigerian officials involved in his case, and we urge the public to disregard these false accusations in their entirety.
It is essential to note that Mr. Gambaryan’s allegations are not only unsubstantiated but also lack credibility, given his apparent motive to discredit and intimidate those who ensured he faced justice.
However, we are confident that both the Nigerian and American judicial systems will provide Mr. Gambaryan with a fair opportunity to substantiate his claims in court. Until then, we advise the public to exercise caution and not be swayed by Mr. Gambaryan’s unfounded and malicious claims.
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