Former Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has challenged Tigran Gambaryan, a senior executive at Binance Holdings Limited, to undergo a lie detector test in a neutral country over his bribery allegations against Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
Gambaryan, who served as Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, was detained in Nigeria from February to October 2024 as part of a federal investigation into alleged money laundering and financial misconduct linked to the cryptocurrency exchange’s operations in the country.
On Friday, February 14, Gambaryan alleged via social media platform X that three Nigerian lawmakers had demanded a $150 million bribe in cryptocurrency and accused NSA Ribadu of seeking financial favors from Binance for political purposes.
The Nigerian government has since dismissed these claims as unfounded.
Reacting to the allegations, Murray-Bruce came to Ribadu’s defense, describing the NSA as a man of integrity who would not engage in such misconduct.
He further criticized Gambaryan, suggesting that instead of making baseless accusations, he should be grateful for his release.
“I have known Mallam Nuhu Ribadu my entire life, and I can say with absolute certainty that he is incapable of the allegations being leveled against him,” Murray-Bruce stated.
He then threw a challenge at the Binance executive:
“I challenge @TigranGambaryan to undergo a lie detector test if he genuinely believes the claims he has made.”
Murray-Bruce also accused Gambaryan of attempting to tarnish Nigeria’s image and warned that if his claims proved false, he should issue a public apology.