Binance Chief Gambaryan fingers NSA Ribadu in alleged bribery scandal

Tigran Gambaryan, a former US federal agent and Binance employee, has added National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu among the Nigerian officials he claimed wanted bribe from his organisation before  his release from detention.

Gambaryan was detained in February 2024 and released in October 2024 after the Nigerian government dropped money laundering charges against him following U.S. diplomatic pressure.

According to Gambaryan, Ribadu demanded billions in payouts to fund his political ambitions.

He also alleged that Ribadu hired a U.S. law firm to negotiate his release, but the firm’s incompetence and greed led to the effort’s failure.

He claimed Ribadu exceeded his authority and embarrassed Nigeria before former U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, resulting in diplomatic fallout.

He said it led the U.S. to restrict visas for the Nigerian delegation at the United Nations General Assembly and that then President Joe Biden declined to meet with President Tinubu until the matter was resolved.

Providing insight into the meeting, he claimed the officials were driven by greed and stated, “Ribadu emphasised that he wanted billions in payouts to fund his future political ambition”.

He noted that when the corruption scandal came to light, “he was trapped—because any settlement would now be perceived as a bribe. I guess he really wanted his boss’ job”.

He added: “That’s it’s for me for now. I don’t want to dwell on this, but it’s important for Nigerians to get the facts. I met amazing people in Nigeria. It’s a shame that these muppets are in charge.”

Gambaryan had earlier mentioned there House of Representative members as among those who requested bribe.

He explained that Nigeria’s secret police Department of State Services (DSS) was involved in the House of Representatives matter.