The Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has accused the Nigerian Correctional Service of failing to present Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan at the Federal High Court in Abuja for his tax evasion case.
According to local reports, Tigran Gambaryan did not appear in court on May 22 to face tax evasion charges filed by the FIRS. During the court session, prosecution counsel Moses Idehu expressed confusion about Gambaryan’s absence, noting failed attempts to contact officials at the correctional centre.
Idehu requested a brief pause in proceedings to address the issue, but Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja rescheduled Gambaryan’s arraignment to June 14. Binance’s counsel, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, objected to the prosecution’s failure to present Gambaryan in court.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chukwuka Ikwuazo, representing Gambaryan, asked the judge to instruct FIRS to remove Nadeem Anjarwalla’s name from the amended charges, as he has been declared “at large.” The FIRS lawyer agreed to take the necessary steps to remove Anjarwalla’s name from the charge sheet.
Gambaryan was transferred to the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja in April 2024 after pleading not guilty to money laundering charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission. His bail application was denied, and he remains in detention. The charges include concealing the source of $35.4 million generated by Binance in Nigeria.
In March 2024, the FIRS filed tax evasion charges against Binance and its executives, including Gambaryan and Anjarwalla. These charges involve failure to register with the FIRS, failure to pay company income tax, failure to pay value-added tax, and facilitating tax evasion.
The Nigerian government accused the cryptocurrency exchange of directly influencing foreign exchange rates, leading to increased regulation of crypto trading platforms.
On February 28, Nigerian authorities detained Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan serving as Binance’s regional manager for Africa, and Gambaryan, a 40-year-old American heading Binance’s financial crime compliance unit.
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