Binance, two officials for arraignment Thursday over alleged money laundering, tax infractions

A Federal High Court in Abuja has slated the arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited alongside two of its officials, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, who escaped lawful custody on March 22 and fled the country.
They are set to appear before Justice Emeka Nwite on separate charges.
The charges, filed by both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), include allegations of money laundering and tax infractions, respectively.
In the case brought by the EFCC, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla are accused of engaging in the specialized business of other financial institutions without a valid license, as well as laundering approximately $35,400,000 between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja.
The EFCC charged the defendants under Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.
On the FIRS front, the defendants are accused of failing to register with the FIRS for tax purposes while offering services to subscribers on the Binance platform.
This offence, according to FIRS, violates various tax laws, including the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act of 1993 (as amended), the FIRS Establishment Act of 2007 (as amended), and the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended).
Justice Nwite, on March 18, had ordered Binance to furnish the EFCC with comprehensive data on all Nigerian traders using its platform.
The interim order, granted in response to an ex-parte motion filed by EFCC’s lawyer Ekele Iheanacho, aims to facilitate EFCC’s investigation into alleged money laundering and terrorism financing activities on Binance’s platform.