The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, alleged on Tuesday that Nigerian government agents had demanded $150 million in bribes in order to avoid having Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla charged.

It was requested of Binance to use one of their cryptocurrency exchange accounts to make the covert payment. The CEOs have refuted reports that they paid officials.

Binance Requested $150 Million to Address Problems

On May 7, Binance Holdings CEO Richard Teng stated that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had contacted Binance staff members in an attempt to obtain a sizable sum of money in order to resolve allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.

Binance attempted to interact with Nigerian authorities, holding a meeting on January 8 during which the executives were accused of crimes As our employees were leaving the venue, they were approached by unknown persons who suggested to them to make a payment in settlement of the allegations.

Binance lawyer was presented with a demand for a significant payment in cryptocurrency to be paid in secret within 48 hours to make these issues go away,” said Richard Teng.

Peoples Gazette and New York Times reported Nigerian government officials were accused of soliciting $150 million in bribes in order to make the recent fraud charges “go away”.

Binance has insisted that the allegations were meritless and illegal, with Binance executives detained even after court orders expired

Charges on Binance and Tigran Gambaryan

Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were arrested in February, starting the latest trouble for the crypto exchange after Changpeng Zhao stepped down and Binance paid $4.3 billion in fines to settle the U.S. DOJ allegations including money laundering.

Nadeem Anjarwalla escaped from custody, possibly bribed officials with crypto, to fled to Kenya. Kenyan authorities later denied arresting Anjarwalla for escape from custody

Nigerian authorities have charged both Binance and compliance officer Tigran Gambaryan with tax evasion and money laundering. Nigerian officials have blamed crypto especially Binance for the collapse of the country’s currency Naira.

Binance CEO Richard Teng advocates for its executive Tigran Gambaryan’s release amidst the Nigerian detainment crisis, emphasizing justice and corporate integrity. Gambaryan’s trial was postponed to May 17.