Business
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: Provide evidence in seven days or face legal action — Lawmaker tells Binance executive
Philip Agbese, a member of the house of representatives, has denied a bribery allegation against him by an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan.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.
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 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 noted that he has never been involved in any cryptocurrency trading and does not have a crypto wallet so he 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 or apologize within seven days, or face legal action.
Read the full statement below:
“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.
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.
“I have never used any cryptocurrency as I do not have a crypto wallet anywhere in the world, so I could not have asked for funds to be credited to a non-existent wallet.
Gambaryan and his associate, who escaped from prison, should return to the EFCC and defend themselves. Instead of trying to implicate me, they should focus on addressing the allegations against them.
As a consequence of the foregoing, I demand that Tigran Gambaryan publishes any evidence that links Hon. Philip Agbese to the issue. The man has spewed many other lies in his report about the government demanding information on opposition elements and other outrageous claims.
I further demand that, failing to provide evidence as stated, Tigran Gambaryan must cause a retraction of his malicious claims and publication and apologise to me within the next 7 days or face legal action from my lawyers.
This is not the first allegation against me by a foreign entity.
The first was that I work for the past government and the Armed Forces to promote Nigeria’s agenda, which shows the extent of desperation by entities that are interested in undermining public office holders they perceive as nationalistic.
Business
CBN places suspicious BVNs on 24-hour watchlist
These provisions are set to take effect from 1 May 2026.
Photo: Olayemi Cardoso , CBN Governor
To combat fraud, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled new regulations aimed at strengthening fraud control and digital banking security across the country.
These provisions are set to take effect from 1 May 2026.
In a circular issued to all banks, other financial institutions and payment service providers, the apex bank details amendments to the Revised Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) operations and additional requirements for instant payment services.
Under the new BVN framework, financial institutions are required to maintain a temporary watchlist for BVNs implicated in suspected fraudulent transactions.Any BVN placed on this list will remain there for a maximum of 24 hours, during which the account holder will be contacted to provide clarification.
The circular also sets age restrictions for BVN enrolment, limiting registration to individuals 18 years and above, and restricts phone number amendments linked to BVNs to a single change.
Access to BVN databases will now be exclusively for CBN-licensed financial institutions, with the central bank retaining the right to grant access in extenuating circumstances under existing laws.
Business
Indorama, Nigerian Breweries and Genesis Power plan 45,000 tons rPET Plant in Lagos
The initiative aims to meet fast rising demand for recycled content, reduce plastic waste and create local value through improved collection systems.
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Genesis Power and Energy Solutions Ltd have entered a strategic partnership to establish one of Africa’s largest state-of-the-art recycled PET (rPET) production facilities in Nigeria.
Located in Lagos, the site represents an investment to develop a facility capable of producing up to 45,000 tons of food grade rPET resin yearly, with start up targeted in the first half of 2027, a statement by the partners said.By converting post consumer PET bottles into high quality recycled material for packaging applications.
The initiative aims to meet fast rising demand for recycled content, reduce plastic waste and create local value through improved collection systems.
The project is expected to support recycling capacity in Nigeria, subject to regulatory approvals, technical validation and operational implementation.
Together, the partners aim to establish commercially viable rPET operations that enable responsible growth and long-term environmental impact.
Commenting on the landmark partnership, Executive President of Petchem and Chairman of ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, Yash Lohia, said: “This partnership marks a defining milestone in our global recycling journey. By establishing our largest recycling facility to date and one of the largest rPET sites in Africa, we are bringing Indorama Ventures’ global expertise, proven technologies and long-term vision for circularity to a region with immense growth potentials.
This investment reflects our belief that scaling sustainability solutions locally is essential to building resilient, sustainable packaging systems that deliver lasting environmental and economic value.”
Chairman and CEO of Genesis Energy, Akinwole II Omoboriowo, said: “This compelling initiative demonstrates Genesis’s commitment to deploying capital to climate-resilient investments by leveraging clean energy as a strategic nexus to advancing viable economic opportunities.
The investment is also a testament to how cross-sector partnerships can enable sustainable industrial development. By combining circular economy principles with resilient infrastructure and energy solutions, the initiative supports long-term environmental impact and local value creation.”
Business
CBN restricts mobile banking apps operation to one device
In the circular signed by the CBN’s Director of Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, said ” Implementation of the above provisions will take effect from July 1, 2026.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday restricted the operation of mobile banking applications (apps) to one device.
This was contained in a circular to all banks and other financial institutions and payment service providers (PSP) announcing additional guidance for the operations of instant payments (IP) in Nigeria.
In the circular signed by the CBN’s Director of Payments System Policy Department, Musa Jimoh, said ” Implementation of the above provisions will take effect from July 1, 2026.”
The circular read: “The Central CBN in line with its mandate of promoting financial system stability hereby issues additional guidance for the operations of Instant Payments in Nigeria.
All Financial Institutions (FIs) offering Instant Payment (IP) shall provide the following additional functionalities: Mandatory device binding: Mobile financial services applications (apps) shall only be enabled on one device at a time, and customers cannot operate the apps concurrently on multiple devices.“Migration to another device shall trigger automatic re-activation and authentication.
“Customers shall have the option to opt-out of opt-in to IP service at any time and for any given period.
This process shall be subject to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) control. Default setting shall be Opt-in upon on-boarding a new customer.
“In the opt-out mode, a customer shall not be able to carry out online instant transfer of funds (intra or inter) from his/her account to another customer.“
However, customers can physically visit the financial institution to effect transfer during this period.
“Voluntary Transaction Limit: Subject to the existing maximum limits of N25 million for individuals and N250 million for corporates, customers shall have the option to adjust the limits as needed.
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