Nigeria has rejected bribery allegations made by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency alternate, labeling them as a “tactic to divert” consideration from the alternate’s actions.
The assertion is available in response to a weblog publish by Binance’s newly appointed CEO, Richard Teng, who claimed that the Nigerian authorities demanded a $150 million cryptocurrency fee to settle an ongoing legal investigation.
Nigerian Authorities Slams Binance’s Bribery Claims
In accordance with Bloomberg, Nigerian Ministry of Info spokesman Rabiu Ibrahim dismissed Teng’s bribery allegations as baseless and missing substance.
Ibrahim said that the Binance CEO’s declare was a mere diversionary tactic aimed toward shifting focus away from the cryptocurrency alternate’s actions. The Nigerian authorities firmly denies involvement in any bribery makes an attempt.
In accordance with Teng’s weblog publish, Binance attended a gathering with Nigerian officers in January, throughout which legal allegations had been raised towards the corporate.
Teng claimed that as Binance workers left the assembly, they had been approached by unknown people who demanded a major cryptocurrency fee inside 48 hours to settle the allegations.
The weblog publish additionally talked about that Gambaryan and his colleague returned to Nigeria in February on the authorities’ invitation however had been subsequently arrested.
Whereas one worker has managed to flee in current months, Tigran Gambaryan stays in custody. He faces fees of tax evasion, forex hypothesis, and cash laundering. His trial is scheduled to start later this month.
Nigeria Intensifies Scrutiny Of Cryptocurrencies
The Nigerian authorities dismisses Binance’s bribery claims as a part of the corporate’s “orchestrated worldwide marketing campaign” to undermine Nigeria’s fame.
The federal government additionally accuses Binance of resorting to fictional claims and mudslinging media campaigns to clear its identify amidst legal prosecutions in a number of international locations, together with the US.
It’s price noting that Nigeria has been scrutinizing the position of cryptocurrencies within the depreciation of the native forex, the naira. The federal government attributes a part of the forex’s decline to overseas alternate management changes and elevated volatility.
To handle considerations, the Securities and Trade Fee banned person-to-person cryptocurrency buying and selling within the naira and indicated that new laws can be applied to manipulate the sector.
Along with the problems in Nigeria, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was not too long ago sentenced to 4 months in jail within the US for failures that allowed cybercriminals and terrorist teams to commerce freely on the platform. The alternate additionally agreed to pay $4.3 billion to resolve allegations raised by US authorities.
Binance has not but responded to the Nigerian authorities’s accusations and denials. It stays to be seen how the alternate will tackle the state of affairs or present any additional clarification concerning the allegations.
As of this writing, the alternate’s native token, BNB, is buying and selling at $585, up 4.4% up to now week.
Featured picture from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
