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
BUA Chairman Rabiu shares South Africa visa entry denial experience at Africa CEO Forum
Rabiu said the experience highlighted the difficulties Africans still face when travelling within the continent despite ongoing talks about African integration and economic cooperation.
The founder and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has recounted how he was denied entry into South Africa after his visa expired a day before his trip, while European travellers were reportedly allowed into the country without visas.
Rabiu shared the experience on Thursday while speaking on “Africa at Scale: Capital, Policy and the Architecture of Growth” at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.
He said that the incident occurred in February 2025 when he travelled from Lagos to Cape Town for the Mining Indaba conference.
He said that immigration officials stopped him on arrival after discovering that his visa had expired the previous day.
Rabiu explained that he and his team spent about four hours at the airport before he was eventually returned to Lagos.
“I take full responsibility because my visa had expired and my crew failed to notice it before the trip,” he said.
However, the businessman said that he became concerned after noticing that passengers arriving on multiple flights from Europe were allowed into South Africa without visas while he, as an African, was denied entry.
“While we were waiting at the immigration desk, there were about three international flights from Europe. Most of the passengers were Europeans, and they all entered Cape Town without visas,” he said.
Rabiu said the experience highlighted the difficulties Africans still face when travelling within the continent despite ongoing talks about African integration and economic cooperation.
“I did not have a problem with being returned because I had no valid visa. My issue was being an African in Africa and being denied entry, while foreigners from other continents were allowed in freely without visas,” he said.
He called for reforms in visa and immigration policies across the continent, stressing that Africa cannot achieve meaningful economic integration while Africans continue to face barriers moving within African countries.
Business
At Africa CEO Forum, President Tinubu Highlights “Partnerships That Moves Africa Forward”
“With our metals, we can produce batteries for cars. The private sector brings capital and expertise, but government must de-risk and create the enabling environment. That partnership is how Africa moves forward”.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during a panel session at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum, called for “Partnership that can move Africa forward.”
He advocated an “Africa First” approach to development, insisting that African resources should primarily benefit the continent through local processing and manufacturing.
“We don’t want scavengers and extractors. We want partners who process and manufacture locally,” said President Tinubu.
He said that his administration’s policies were positioning Nigeria as an open and competitive destination for investment.
“In Nigeria, we’ve attracted nearly $20 billion in direct investment this year because we are efficient, transparent, and open for business,” President Tinubu said.
President Tinubu attributed the inflow to reforms aimed at improving transparency, efficiency, and investor confidence in the country.
He said that Nigeria would no longer permit the export of raw minerals without local value addition, noting that the country possesses the capacity to manufacture products such as electric vehicle batteries from its mineral resources.
He said: “With our metals, we can produce batteries for cars. The private sector brings capital and expertise, but government must de-risk and create the enabling environment. That partnership is how Africa moves forward”.
Presidential hopeful of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has reiterated the critical role of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in driving Nigeria’s economic growth and reducing unemployment.
Obi made the remarks on Tuesday following a series of meetings in London with stakeholders in British politics and the business community, including Jonathan Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC).
According to Obi, discussions with Lord Marland focused on prospective trade opportunities, economic advancement, and strategies for promoting small businesses across Nigeria.
Drawing comparisons with rapidly developing economies such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Obi stressed that sustainable economic growth and job creation can only be achieved through deliberate support for MSMEs.
The former Anambra State governor maintained that small businesses remain the backbone of the economy and called for stronger policies aimed at boosting development and creating employment opportunities, particularly in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
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