- Provide Evidence Of ‘Allegations’ Against Me– Agbese
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Phillip Agbese, has registered his disputation over allegation of corruption, which bordered on bribe request, levelled against him by Tiger Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Holdings Limited.
Gambaryan had, on Friday, accused three federal lawmakers of demanding $150 million bribe from them during the conflict between Nigeria and the cryptocurrency firm.
Gambaryan alleged that the legislators demanded that the kickback be paid into their personal digital wallets.
Gambaryan made the grave allegation in a post published via X on Friday, adding that he and Anjarwalla met with some officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) in January 2024.
The Binance executive said the meeting was a prerequisite to the planned meeting with members of the house of representatives.
He added that the DSS officials asked them to comply with whatever the federal lawmakers asked them to do.
“At the House meeting, there were three members present. They set up fake cameras and media to make the meeting appear official, but the cameras weren’t even plugged in,” he wrote.
“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 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…”
— Tigran Gambaryan (@TigranGambaryan) February 14, 2025
According to Gambaryan, the three lawmakers, include Peter Akpanke, and Agbese demanded a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency payment into their personal wallets.
Recall that In May 2024, Richard Teng, the firm’s chief executive officer (CEO), alleged that some unknown persons in Nigeria demanded $150 million in digital currency to make their problems in the country “go away”.
Recall, too, that Gambaryan was detained by the Nigerian government from February 2024 to October 2024 over the activities of Binance in the country.
Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance regional manager for Africa, were arrested in Nigeria in February 2024.
Their arrest followed the federal government’s accusation that the cryptocurrency firm was manipulating FX rates in Nigeria and destroying the country’s economy.
Both men were arrested after they travelled to Nigeria for a meeting with officials of the federal government.
A month later, Anjarwalla escaped from custody, leaving Gambaryan to face prosecution.
Meanwhile, Agbese has reacted to the bribery allegation stressing that there’s no basis for lumping him together with other lawmakers.
Agbese denied the allegation in a statement issued on Friday hours after Gambaryan’s claim became viral.
According to the 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.
“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.
“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.” Agbese wrote.
