Binance, Executives Tax Evasion Trial Suffers Setback
The arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), on Wednesday, suffered a setback at a Federal High Court, in Abuja.
The matter, which was scheduled for arraignment before Justice Emeka Nwite, could not proceed due to the absence of Gambaryan in court. Gambaryan, who is the second defendant in the four-count charge, is being remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The FIRS, in the amended four-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, dated and filed on May 17, sued Binance, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla as 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively.
In the fresh charge, though Anjarwalla was listed as 3rd defendant, the tax agency included the inscription; “at large” immediately after his name. Justice Nwite had, on Friday, rejected Gambaryan’s application for bail in another charge filed against him and the company by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge, who held that the affidavit evidence presented by the EFCC against the defendant of being a flight risk was overwhelming, ordered him to be remanded in prison until the hearing and determination of the money laundering charge.
When the matter was called on Wednesday in the case filed by the FIRS, counsel for the parties was in court except for Gambaryan. FIRS lawyer, Moses Ideho, told the court that Gambaryan was supposed to be produced from custody. “But I don’t know the reason he is not here. We have been trying to get to members of the correctional center, but we have been unable to understand why they are not here.
“The correctional centre has the right to bring him to court,” he said. He prayed to the court for a stand-down of the case. Chukwuka Ikwuazo, SAN, who appeared for Gambaryan, said they had been in court since 9am and did not see any reason the matter would be stood down.
He said the prosecution cannot say he did not know the whereabouts of the defendant, who was under the custody of the Federal Government and which he represented in court.
Ideho further urged the court to stand down on the matter in order to confirm if the prison officers were on their way or why they were not in court. But counsel for Binance (1st defendant), Tonye Krukrubo, SAN, who disagreed with Ideho’s plea for a stand-down, said he appeared under protest.
He said the government lawyer was to blame because he ought to have known that the defendant would not be brought to court. Responding, Ideho said on the last adjourned date, though the defendants would have been arraigned, the defence counsel sought an adjournment.
“It is unfortunate he is not here my lord and it is not my fault,” he said. The lawyer then sought an adjournment, pledging that the agency would communicate with the officers of the correctional centre to ensure that Gambaryan was produced early in court.
Ikwuazo therefore called the attention of the court to the amended charge filed by the FIRS. The senior lawyer said Ideho informed the court on the last adjourned date that a fresh charge had been filed.
He said though he did not see the latest charge then, Ikwuazo said Anjarwalla, who is being listed as the third defendant, is still being named with a tag, “at large” in the amended charge.
He said he felt this should be brought to the notice of the court because it could delay the trial. “Under our law, when a defendant is named, he should be served the charge,” he said. Krukrubo added that “it is a constitutional requirement that a charge be read to a suspect in the language he understands.
“Therefore, the charge cannot be read to a ghost.” In his response, Ideho promised to do the needful as directed by the court. Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until June 14 for arraignment.
Richard Teng, Binance Chief, in May accused Nigeria of setting a dangerous precedent after its executives were invited to the country and then detained as part of a crackdown on crypto. The company is challenging the trials on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.
Binance and its executives Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan who is Binance’s regional manager for Africa, face four counts of tax evasion, including failure to register with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service for tax purposes.
Anjarwalla escaped custody in March but is still listed on the case, without indicating he was ‘at large’—a f factor that could stall trial given that Nigerian law requires that parties be served before the case can proceed, Gambaryan’s lawyer Chukwuka Ikwuazom said.
The revenue service lawyer, Moses Ideho, said Gambaryan was supposed to have been produced in court by Nigeria’s prison service and that he did not know why he was not in court.
Judge Emeka Nwite adjourned the possible arraignment of Binance and Gambaryan to June 14. In addition to the tax evasion trial, Binance and the executives have also been charged with laundering more than $35 million by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). A money laundering trial will be heard on Thursday.
Binance has said it is working closely with Nigerian authorities following the detention of Gambaryan. #Binance, Executives Tax Evasion Trial Suffers Setback Fitch Upgrades InfraCredit’s Outlook to Positive
