The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought forth charges against Binance Holdings Ltd and one of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, April 8, 2024.
The charges encompass a 5-count indictment relating to alleged tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering, totaling $34,400,000 (Thirty-Four Million, Four Hundred Thousand United States Dollars).
During the previous hearing, the second defendant, Tigran Gambaryan, contested his affiliation with Binance Company in Nigeria, asserting that he held no official capacity therein to warrant being served on behalf of the first defendant. However, during the latest proceedings, Justice Nwite noted that Gambaryan, in an earlier affidavit, acknowledged his association with Binance, having joined the company in September 2021. Consequently, the objection to his arraignment was dismissed.
One of the charges outlined alleges that between January 2023 and January 2024, the defendants engaged in specialized financial activities without the requisite license, violating Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, punishable under section 57(5) of the same Act.
Furthermore, the indictment asserts that Binance Holdings Ltd unlawfully conducted foreign exchange transactions in Nigeria between January 2022 and January 2024, utilizing its virtual asset services platform, contravening section 29(1)(c) of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.
Gambaryan pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him.
The prosecuting counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, requested a trial date, while defense counsel, Mark Mordi, SAN, petitioned for bail for his client, citing Gambaryan’s foreign nationality and his purportedly extended period of detention. Mordi additionally proposed that his client be remanded in EFCC custody instead of the correctional center.
In response, Iheanacho asserted the legality of Gambaryan’s detention following the arraignment, emphasizing the statutory procedure dictating remand in a correctional facility post-arraignment, irrespective of the defendant’s status.
Justice Nwite scheduled April 18, 2024, for the bail application hearing and May 5, 2024, for the commencement of the trial. Additionally, he ordered the defendant’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
