Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive held in Nigeria, has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering levelled against him by Nigerian authorities.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria has accused both Binance and Gambrayan of money laundering and foreign exchange manipulation. The crypto exchange is also facing four counts of tax evasion charges filed by the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS).
Gambaryan, appearing before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on April 8 2024, reportedly pleaded not guilty to all four counts of money laundering, as per the News Agency of Nigeria.
Gambaryan is set to be held in Kuje Correctional Centre until the determination of his bail application on April 18 2024. The judge has adjourned the case to May 2 2024 for the commencement of the trial.
Gambaryan, along with Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Regional Manager for Africa based in Kenya, was detained on February 26 2024 upon their arrival in the country to address the issue of the company’s restricted website access. Anjarwalla later fled the country using a smuggled passport, with the government launching an international manhunt to recapture the British-Kenyan.
🇳🇬REGULATION | Nigeria Contacts Interpol for an International Arrest Warrant Over Escaped Binance Regional Manager
"We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody. Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with… pic.twitter.com/GhP7NxjVvc
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) March 26, 2024
Both executives have filed a human rights violation suit at the Federal High Court of Nigeria. They petitioned the office of the NSA and Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to release them, return their passports, and issue a public apology.
Binance woes in Nigeria are related to the exchange rate, which ultimately saw the company shut down trades involving the Naira. Local authorities have blamed the platform for a rising exchange rate while also accusing it of benefitting from ‘illegal transactions.’
The Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has also accused Binance Chief Executive, Richard Teng, of refusing to appear before the committee despite a series of invitations to brief the committee relating to ‘its total disregard for extant laws governing business and financial operations in the country.’
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