Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Phillip Agbese on Friday denied the $150 million bribery allegation leveled against him and two other lawmakers, by the Binance Director, Tigran Gambaryan.
Hon. Agbese position was contained in a statement titled: ‘Binance: Provide Evidence or Face Consequences’, obtained by Saturday Tribune.
He said: “I am outraged by the false allegations made by Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of the controversial crypto firm Binance, claiming that I was among those who demanded a $150 million bribe from him.
“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.
“Let it be on record that I am not a member of the Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes. I visited my colleague, Hon. Peter Ankpanke, in his office, where he was meeting with some visitors about an activity of his Committee, with Hon. Peter Anakwe, a member of the Committee present. We exchanged pleasantries and, in character with my person as an avid pursuer of knowledge, discussed Binance’s activities that did not include any demand from anyone.
“It was during this visit to the office of Hon. Peter Ankpanke, with Hon. Peter Anekwe present, that he told me they were interfacing with Binance Team from abroad over a referral to their Committee.
“What transpired between the two of them and the Binance executive after I left the office is left to them. I never saw those visitors again after that chance meeting and did not afterwards attend any meeting with Binance executives, the EFCC, or the DSS.
“I am aware that when this issue was first raised, the Chairman of the Committee went to court and Binance apologised. So, all inquiries should be directed to the Committee, not to Hon. Philip Agbese.
“I have never used any cryptocurrency as I do not have a crypto wallet anywhere in the world, so I could not have asked for funds to be credited to a non-existent wallet.
“Gambaryan and his associate, who escaped from prison, should return to the EFCC and defend themselves. Instead of trying to implicate me, they should focus on addressing the allegations against them.
“As a consequence of the foregoing, I demand that Tigran Gambaryan publishes any evidence that links Hon. Philip Agbese to the issue. The man has spewed many other lies in his report about the government demanding information on opposition elements and other outrageous claims.
“I further demand that, failing to provide evidence as stated, Tigran Gambaryan must cause a retraction of his malicious claims and publication and apologise to me within the next 7 days or face legal action from my lawyers.
“This is not the first allegation against me by a foreign entity. The first was that I work for the past government and the Armed Forces to promote Nigeria’s agenda, which shows the extent of desperation by entities that are interested in undermining public office holders they perceive as nationalistic,” Hon. Agbese said in the statement.
The Binance Director had on his official X account, accused the lawmakers of demanding the sum of $150 million bribe to paid in cryptocurrency.
It reads: “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.
“@NuhuRibadu invited us to the official meeting and worked through Sa’ad Abubakar. Another key figure in this situation was Hamma Adama Belloji. Ogunjobi was just a pawn; they used him too. This was a sold as a friendly meeting with the NSA, the head of the SEC, and the CBN governor and include the discussion of the bribe that was solicited by the house of representatives.
“The $26 billion figure they kept pushing publicly as some mystery money escaping Nigeria is complete BS. This information was provided in response to their request and was simply cumulative trade data for Nigerians on the platform. This money didn’t leave Nigeria—it was just people buying and selling crypto. For example, if you trade $100 a hundred times, that’s $10,000 in trade volume, but in reality, you only used $100. Again, just another example of them lying to cover up their BS investigation.
“They lied about Nadeem escaping during mosque prayers. In reality, he returned and escaped afterward. I don’t know exactly how he managed to flee. He emailed me in November, but we haven’t discussed the details of his escape. It’s possible he paid someone off, but I have no proof. If Belloji had simply checked his passport for a visa, he would have realized that They also detained innocent EFCC detectives who weren’t even present when Nadeem “escaped.” If anyone should have been detained, it was Belloji, for multiple basic law enforcement failures, incompetence, and negligence- including:
.Failing to search our belongings
.Not checking passports for visas
.Neglecting to coordinate with immigration to issue travel restrictions or alerts
.Mismanaging the situation internationally, creating an unnecessary diplomatic crisis
“We had a strong working relationship with Nigerian law enforcement, but their greed destroyed all cooperation between Nigeria and the entire industry.
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“They even threatened administrators at Nizamiya Hospital, instructing them not to admit me when I was extremely ill. Additionally, they pressured the hospital to withhold my medical records from my attorneys. This was later confirmed by the Turkish Ministry of Health when my friend met with their officials in Turkey.
“Ribadu emphasized that he wanted billions in payouts to fund his future political ambition. However, when the corruption scandal came to light, he was trapped—because any settlement would now be perceived as a bribe. I guess he really wanted his boss’ job:)
“Ribadu even hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate my release, but this failed due to their incompetence and greed. Looking at you Idayat Hassan.
“Ribadu overstepped his authority and embarrassed Nigeria in front of U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Ribadu acting like an asshole angered the White House and led to diplomatic repercussions—the U.S. limited visas to the Nigerian delegation for UNGA, and Biden refused to meet with Tinubu until my situation was resolved.
“In the end, Ribadu overestimated his influence. They thought they could secure a quick win, but instead, they created an international incident, exposing his incompetence on a global scale.
“That’s it’s for me for now. I don’t want to dwell on this, but it’s important for Nigerians to get the facts. I met amazing people in Nigeria. It’s a shame that these muppets are in charge,” the Binance Director alleged on his X account.
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