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Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Five things Nigerian govt must do before getting single dime from Binance: CEO Richard Teng

Secondly, the Binance CEO explicitly stated that any settlement proposed by the Nigerian government must be “official, recorded in writing, and signed by all relevant parties.”

• May 7, 2024
President Bola Tinubu, National Securty Aduser Nuhu Ribadu and Bianance CEO, Richard Teng
President Bola Tinubu, National Securty Aduser Nuhu Ribadu and Bianance CEO, Richard Teng

CEO of Binance Richard Teng has provided a list of requirements that need to be fulfilled before the cryptocurrency giant will even consider offering the Nigerian government any portion of the requested $150 million bribe.

On Tuesday, Mr Teng told The New York Times that the Nigerian government had reached out to him with a deal to pay a $150 million bribe in exchange for the release of its detained executives and make fraud charges against Binance “go away.”

However, Mr Teng claimed he would only agree to the bribe demand under five conditions since he was sceptical about making a deal with the Nigerian government because of the arrangement’s covert nature

Bur Mr Teng — sceptical about striking a deal with the Nigerian government due to the arrangement’s covert nature— said he would only agree to the bribe demand on five conditions.

First, Mr Teng said that Binance “must see the relevant petition and/or the details of all allegations” that the Nigerian government instituted against the crypto giant at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court. 

Secondly, the Binance CEO explicitly stated that any settlement proposed by the Nigerian government must be “official, recorded in writing, and signed by all relevant parties.”

For the third condition, Mr Teng said, “Any settlement must encompass all relevant agencies and be in full and final settlement of all allegations, including any potential historic tax liabilities, if applicable, with guarantees.”

Additionally, the crypto mogul said that “while the exact terms of any settlement may have to remain private, there would have to be some public acknowledgment that a resolution has been reached” by the Nigerian government. 

Mr Teng also insisted that “there should be no public hearing before the committee.”

To conclude the conditions, Mr Teng warned the Nigerian government not to harass and detain any of their contractors to intimidate the company.

The Nigerian government did not immediately respond to Peoples Gazette’s request for a comment on the conditions.

Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, both Binance executives, were arrested in February over what they thought was an invitation by the Nigerian government to absolve the company of naira manipulation allegations.

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