The Federal Government is preparing to bring charges against two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, in the Abuja Federal High Court. According to Naija News, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, who left the country two weeks ago, will face separate charges before Justice Emeka Nwite on Thursday.
The charges against them involve allegations of money laundering and various tax infractions. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed the first charge on March 28, containing five counts related to money laundering, accusing the Binance executives of laundering approximately $35.4 million.
Among the allegations, the EFCC claims that the defendants conducted financial activities without proper licensing between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja, which violates 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 other hand, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) filed the second charge on March 22, consisting of four counts of tax infractions allegedly committed on or about February 1 this year. The defendants are accused of failing to register with the FIRS for tax purposes while offering services to subscribers on the Binance platform.
Justice Nwite granted an interim order based on an ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, to enable the EFCC to investigate claims of money laundering and terrorism financing activities on Binance’s platform.
Previously, on March 18, Justice Nwite had directed Binance to furnish the EFCC with comprehensive data on all individuals trading on its platform from Nigeria.
