Based on news from local sources, Tigran Gambaryan, who serves as Binance‘s Head of Financial Crimes Compliance, has been taken into custody in Abuja, Nigeria. The Federal High Court in Abuja delayed the consideration of Gambaryan’s bail request for 11 days, with the detention order remaining in effect until the bail hearing on April 18.
Judge Emeka Nwite concurred with the prosecution’s point that a correctional facility is the proper venue for detaining a defendant following an arraignment. Gambaryan faced charges of money laundering in total, amounting to five counts.
Tigran Gambaryan Pleads Not Guilty
On March 28, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria announced new charges against Tigran Gambaryan and Binance. They are accused of money laundering in connection to a case worth $35.4 million.
During the court hearing, Gambaryan openly declared his innocence to the presented charges. At the judge’s instruction, Binance’s plea was recorded as “not guilty” based on the prosecutor’s recommendation.
At the court hearing, Mark Mordi, representing Gambaryan, contested how Binance, being considered a corporate entity, was served the indictment. He maintained that the indictment should be personally served to Binance or delivered to an authorized representative for the arraignment to proceed.
Despite Gambaryan’s objection to accepting service on behalf of Binance, the judge deemed his actions unlawful. This was because Gambaryan and his colleague Anjarwalla, who had previously eluded Nigerian authorities’ custody, had sworn an affidavit declaring they had been in Nigeria since February, acting as Binance representatives.
The judge mandated that Gambaryan be held at the Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja until April 18 for the consideration of his bail request.
Gambaryan’s lawyer requested an earlier court date or asked that his client be temporarily held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arguing that the prolonged detention was taking a toll on his client’s health.
Despite this, the legal representative of the EFCC insisted that keeping Gambaryan in prison was the right move. They made a comparison to Nigerian citizens held in foreign jails while undergoing criminal proceedings.
Binance Accused Of Violating Nigerian Tax Laws
In a different legal action brought against Binance and its top officials, including Gambaryan, by the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), charges of tax evasion have been levied.
The accusations involve several issues: not registering with the FIRS, not issuing VAT invoices, and failing to withhold VAT from business transactions. Additionally, it is claimed that assistance was given to taxpayers in disregarding or refusing to pay taxes illegally. These actions potentially result in fines based on applicable tax legislation.
The court has delayed the bail hearing and scheduled a trial date for the upcoming weeks, leading people to anticipate further developments in the ongoing case involving Gambaryan and Binance. The complexities of running cryptocurrency businesses across various legal systems are underscored by the current predicament, with Gambaryan dealing with these charges and a separate tax fraud allegation.
The price of Binance Coin (BNB) on the market is now at $594, which represents a small 1% rise in value over the past day. It’s important to mention that BNB has seen impressive growth of over 21% during the last month.
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2024-04-09 00:11