A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has discharged executives of the cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance, Tigran Gambaryan and fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla.
PUCNH online reports that the duo were dragged to court by the Federal Inland Revenue Service over alleged tax evasion.
In a ruling on Friday, the court released both executives following fresh amended charges filed by the FIRS in view of a notice from Binance about its appointment of a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa.
Even though Binance had no legal representation in court, Gambaryan took to the dock to have the charges read to him.
But his counsel, Chukwuka Ikwazuonu, notified the court that his client had not been served with the charge, stating that it was too hasty to have him taken to the dock without knowing what his client was about to be tried for.
The prosecutor from the FIRS, Moses Ideho, informed the judge that service of the charge hadn’t been possible due to lack of access to the defendant in custody.
This prompted the court to order service of the charge on the defendant in open court.
Following this, the judge adjourned till June 19 for the arraignment of Gambaryan.
In the second case by the anti-graft agency, the EFCC, through its counsel, E.E. Iheanacho, informed the court that he had served Gambaryan with the charge.
However, the counsel for the defendant, Mark Mordi, said Binance, the company he represents, hasn’t been served, and therefore, arraignment couldn’t go ahead.
Mordi argued that it’s necessary to serve every person individually with the charges before the case can go ahead. He also informed the Court that his client declined service of the charge on behalf of Binance because he wasn’t authorized to do so.
The prosecutor, however, maintained that the defendant, being a top official of Binance, was a fitting representative of the company in this particular instance.
The judge also adjourned the case till June 20 for the EFCC trial to continue, while Tigran will remain detained at Kuje prison.
It was reported last week that 16 US Members of Congress, including the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, wrote to President Biden highlighting that he is a “U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government,” and urging him to do more to secure his release.
Recall the the Federal Government had accused the cryptocurrency exchange of manipulating foreign exchange (FX) rates, which led to increased scrutiny of crypto trading platforms.
Gambaryan and fleeing Anjarwalla are facing a four-count charge by the Nigerian government brought before the court, a case now before the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite.
Separately, the EFCC is prosecuting Binance and its executives on charges of alleged money laundering and foreign exchange violations.
On February 28, 2024, Nigerian authorities detained two senior Binance executives when they arrived in Nigeria for a meeting following the Federal Government’s ban on the cryptocurrency platform.