‘False allegations’ — Philip Agbese asks Binance executive to provide evidence of bribery or face legal action

Philip Agbese, a member of the house of representatives, has denied a bribery allegation against him by Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited.

In a post published on X on Friday, Gambaryan recounted his experiences in the hands of some Nigerian lawmakers.

Gambaryan claimed three lawmakers, including Peter Akpanke, and Agbese demanded a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency payment into their personal wallets.

Gambaryan was detained by the Nigerian government from February 2024 to October 2024 over the activities of Binance in the country.

The house of representatives committee on financial crimes also investigated the cryptocurrency firm.

Reacting to the allegations in a statement, Agbese said he was not a member of the committee and never demanded a bribe from Binance.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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.”

Agbese claimed that he has never been involved in any cryptocurrency trading and does not have a crypto wallet, and could not have asked for funds to be credited to a “non-existent wallet”.

Agbese urged Gambaryan to either publish any evidence linking him to the bribery accusation, apologise within seven days, or face legal action.