The Abuja Federal High Court is set to arraign Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Gambaryan and Anjarwalla will face charges before Justice Emeka Nwite, each on separate charges.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a case against them, consisting of five counts related to money laundering. Additionally, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has filed four counts, accusing them of various tax infractions.
Anjarwalla, who evaded custody on March 22, will be arraigned in absentia before Justice Nwite.
In the charge filed on March 28 by the EFCC, Binance executives are accused of laundering approximately $35,400,000. Count one of the charges alleges that between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja, they conducted specialized financial business without a valid license, contravening Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.
In the FIRS charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024 and filed on March 22, the defendants are accused of committing offenses on or about February 1 this year. Count one alleges their failure to register with the FIRS for tax payment while offering services to subscribers on the Binance platform, constituting offenses under various tax laws.
On March 18, Justice Nwite ordered Binance to furnish the EFCC with comprehensive data on all traders on its platform from Nigeria. This interim order was granted in response to an ex-parte motion filed by EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, to enable investigations into alleged money laundering and terrorism financing activities on Binance’s platform.
