Rep Okafor denies demanding $140m bribe from Binance, threatens Premium Times

The deputy chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Delegated Legislation, Dominic Okafor, has denied an allegation of a $140 million bribe from top executives of cryptocurrency giants, Binance Holdings Limited.

Okafor threatened to take legal action against an online news platform which published the news.

Okafor said, “I am here this afternoon to talk about the false information that has been going on in the social media since after the sponsorship of my motion on Wednesday, May 8, a motion of urgent national importance in which I talked about the need to investigate the escape from custody of one of the executives of Binance, Mr Nadir Anjewala.

“Shortly after I moved that motion which was well received, a lot of people were called to commend me. Shortly after that, I started getting calls from my friends all over the world saying I collected bribes from this very company.

“I got worried and after that, I wrote a letter to Premium Times, the media company that originated the story. I wrote a letter to them and I copied the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Clerk, Inspector General of Police, the EFCC and DSS.

“I asked them to retrieve the information within 24 hours and if not, I will take legal action against them.

“That is why I am here to exonerate myself from such accusation aimed at tarnishing my image which I have earned over the years.

“I am coming from the private sector. I have been a member of Rotary International for over 25 years, for those of you who know what Rotary means and what they stand for. And someone wants to tarnish that image and integrity I have built over the years.”

Gambaryan, Binance Holdings Limited and another top executive who is currently on the run, Nadeem Anjarwalla, are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged money laundering and terrorism financing.