The federal high court has adjourned till April 8 to rule on the case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the Binance crypto platform over alleged money laundering.
The court also adjourned till April 19, for the arraignment of Binnace platform and two executives over alleged tax evasion.
Moses Ideho, counsel to the FIRS acknowledged that the prosecutor had been unable to serve Gambaryan with the charges. He noted that serving the second defendant has benefits difficult because he has been in the custody of the EFCC.
Both matters were adjourned over the inability of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service who are prosecutors to perfect the Service of charge on the defendants
Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla are listed as the first, second and third defendants respectively.
Justice Emeka Nwite on Thursday adjourned the case to rule on whether arraignment would go on without proof of service or not.
During the scheduled arraignment, operatives of the EFCC brought Gambaryan before the court while Anjarwalla, who fled Nigeria was arraigned in absentia.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, which was the first matter called by the court, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwazuonu told the court that his client is not aware of the charges against him. He said his client cannot be arraigned because he had not received the charges from the FIRS.
In the charge, Binance was accused of failing to register with the FIRS to pay all relevant taxes administered by the service.
Moses Ideho requested permission to serve the defendant in court. Both Counsels to the defendant and prosecutor sought an adjournment to allow for more consultation on the charges.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the arraignment to April 19 for Gambaryan to enter his plea in the FIRS case.
The court then called up the EFFC case, Mark Mordi, counsel to Gambaryan, fused the attention of the court over the inability of the prosecution to serve Binance Holdings Limited with a copy of the charges.
He criticised the move by the EFCC to serve his client on behalf of Binance Holdings listed as the first defendant. Mordi argued that his client was neither an authorised representative of the company in the country and as such cannot be served on behalf of the first defendant.
He insisted that the absence of service means the defendant cannot be arraigned as scheduled as due process must be followed by the court.
Ekele Iheanacho, counsel to the EFCC in his argument, urged the court to enter a plea of not guilty and proceed with trial instead.
Iheanacho faulted Gambaryan’s refusal to be served the charges on behalf of the 1st defendant. He argued that the second defendant is the only agent in Nigeria that represents the company, noting that Binance has no physical presence.
“No need embarking on a wide goose chase for someone with no physical presence in Nigeria “, he said, while urging the court to enter a plea of not guilty for the first defendant.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter for ruling on April 8 after listening to both parties.
On March 28, the anti-graft agency officially filed charges, alleging that the trio allegedly laundered an amount of $35,400,000.
The five-count charge alleges that the company operated without a valid license, a violation of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
The FIRS filed a separate four-count charge against Binance. This charge accuses the company of failing to register for and pay taxes in Nigeria. The alleged offences occurred between February 1, 2024, and the filing date of March 22, 2024.
The judge, Emeka Nwite, had previously ordered Binance to provide the EFCC with comprehensive data on all Nigerian users on their platform. This order stems from concerns that the platform may be facilitating money laundering and terrorism financing.
