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Rep. Philip Agbese denies demanding a $150 million bribe from Binance, stating he isn’t on the relevant committee and doesn’t use cryptocurrency
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Agbese demands Gambaryan provide evidence within seven days or retract the claims and apologize, or he will face legal action
House of Representatives member Philip Agbese has denied involvement in the bribery allegations and challenged Gambaryan to provide evidence or face legal action.
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 wallets. The Binance executive, however, failed to provide any evidence to support his claims.
In a statement issued on Friday, Agbese said he was not a committee member 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 committee leadership took the matter to court, and Binance has already apologized.
“Let it be on record that I am not a Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes member. I visited my colleague, Hon. Peter Ankpanke, in his office, where he was meeting with some visitors about 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 them and the Binance executive after I left the office is left to them. After that chance meeting, I never saw those visitors again and did not attend any meetings with Binance executives, the EFCC, or the DSS afterwards.
“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.”
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