Nigeria Orders Incarceration of Binance Executive Following Money Laundering and Tax Evasion Charges: Report
A Nigerian federal high court has ordered a senior Binance executive to be remanded for over a week at a prison in Abuja, the country’s capital, according to a Premium Times report.
The federal high court reportedly issued the order after the head of financial crime compliance at Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, was arraigned on five counts of money laundering.
The Binance executive pleaded not guilty. Gambaryan’s bail hearing is scheduled for April 18th, according to the report.
Late last month, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leveled various charges against Binance, Gambaryan and his colleague Nadeem Anjarwalla, the regional manager for the crypto exchange’s Africa operations.
The charges included “operating without the required license, unlawfully negotiating foreign exchange rates, tax evasion and concealing the origin of illegal proceeds and revenue of $35.4 million.”
Anjarwalla’s whereabouts are currently unknown after he allegedly escaped custody. Nigerian authorities had detained the two at an unknown location for days.
According to Gambaryan’s lawyer, the Binance head of financial crime compliance has stayed in detention for “upward of 40 days against statutory provisions.” Gambaryan is a US citizen while Anjarwalla is a British-Kenyan.
Last week, Binance cited Gambaryan’s previous stint as a U.S. federal agent while making his case to the Nigerian authorities.
“Tigran is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance management. While he has left official service of the U.S. government, he has remained fully committed to the role of law enforcement officer ever since, operating as a global advocate for good governance and transparent regulatory financial practices.
Binance respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible while current discussions are ongoing between Binance and Nigerian government officials.”
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