Tigran Gambaryan, the former head of crime compliance at Binance, has accused Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, of making Nigeria look bad abroad.
During the most recent United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Gambaryan said that Ribadu’s “asshole” behavior prevented former US President Joe Biden from meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
The former Binance executive claimed in a post on X that Ribadu also embarrassed Nigeria in front of Jake Sullivan, the former US National Security Advisor.
Gambaryan claims that Ribadu overestimated his influence on the global stage and caused an international problem.
Gambaryan penned: “Ribadu even hired a US law firm to negotiate my release, but this failed due to their incompetence and greed.
“Ribadu overstepped his authority and embarrassed Nigeria in front of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“Ribadu acting like an asshole angered the White House and led to diplomatic repercussions — the US limited visas to the Nigerian delegation for UNGA, and Biden refused to meet with Tinubu until my situation was resolved.
“In the end, Ribadu overestimated his influence. They thought they could secure a quick win, but instead, they created an international incident, exposing his incompetence on a global scale.
“That’s it 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 a difficult eight months in Nigeria in 2024 after being caught and arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
After Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, claimed that $26 billion had been transferred through Binance covertly, the Nigerian government and Binance were at odds.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, charged Binance and Gambaryan with money laundering in April 2024 after cracking down on cryptocurrencies.
The Federal Government reportedly dropped the money laundering accusations against Gambaryan in October 2024.
