• Accuses firm of employing diversionary tactics to evade prosecution 

The House of Representatives has accused the Chief Executive Officer of Binance cryptocurrency company of blackmailing lawmakers to divert attention and escape prosecution for crimes levelled against the organisation by the Federal Government.

The lower legislative chamber also said the allegations against it by Binance were to derail investigations and delegitimise the chamber’s constitutional, statutory and legitimate enquiry into the activities of the firm in Nigeria.

Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes, Ginger Obinna Onwusibe, who spoke yesterday at a media briefing in Abuja, said the attempt by Binance to smear the lawmakers would fail.

Binance had accused members of the committee of demanding bribes to settle allegations of financial crime levelled against the firm.

This followed government’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency platform in its fight to strengthen the naira, which led to the detention of two officials of the company.
On March 22, one of the two Binance chiefs detained by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) escaped from custody. But multiple reports said the fleeing executive was now in the custody of Kenyan police awaiting extradition to Nigeria.

A few days ago, Risk consultancy firm, SBM Intelligence, predicted that allegations of bribery request levelled against Nigerian government officials by the CEO of Binance, Richard Teng, could hinder the country’s foreign investment drives.

In its analyses of recent events in the country and possible impacts on the economy, SBM Intelligence said the circumstances that led to the detention of Binance officials were also a negative signal to foreign investors.

In dismissing the allegation, Onwusibe, a lawmaker representing Isiala Ngwa North and South Federal Constituency of Abia State, said that the “bogus, obnoxious, false and fabricated allegations are pure blackmail, clearly designed to muddy the waters and shift attention away from the heinous allegations of financial and economic crimes the Nigerian State levelled against Binance, and which are intended to derail the investigations by the committee, delegitimise its constitutional, statutory and legitimate enquiry into the activities of Binance in Nigeria.”

A furious Onwusibe maintained that the sophisticated allegation of criminality against Binance was demonstrated when one of its officials escaped from detention.
He emphasised that Nigerian security and regulatory agencies were already investigating the alleged criminal activities of Binance, independent of the petitions before his committee.

“The criminal activities of Binance in Nigeria had gained notoriety. Indeed, the criminal activities of Binance are not just a Nigerian issue, but a global problem,” the lawmaker fumed.

Onwusibe added: “It should interest Nigerians to know that on April 30, 2024 the founder of Binance, Mr Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months in prison (down from three years demanded by prosecutors) for money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting and violations in Seattle, United States.

“According to U.S. officials, Zhao, just as his company Binance did in Nigeria, intentionally turned a blind eye to transactions that financed terrorism, the illegal drug trade, and child sex abuse.

“It is most unfortunate that some Nigerians have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by Binance and sucked into the hullabaloo prevalent in the Nigerian news circle in the past few days.”