Money Laundering: Court Adjourns Suit Against Binance Executives Till May 17
The trial involving money laundering filed against Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, was adjourned on Thursday until May 17 by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
At today’s proceedings, counsel to the defendant, Tony Krukrubo, had informed the court that he was yet to be served the additional proof of evidence.
The court bailiff, however, told the court that efforts made by him to serve Gambaryan the documents in Kuje prison on April 30 were met with vehement refusal by him to receive the service.
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He added that Gambaryan had told him to serve the documents on the first defendant’s (Binance Holdings Limited) lawyer since the first defendant now has legal representation of its own.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ordered that Binance’s counsel serve the documents in court.
The matter was subsequently adjourned after the service.
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The judge said, “This matter will now be adjourned till May 17 for trial.”
Recall that on April 23, the Federal High Court in Abuja, after listening to the arguments between the prosecution counsel and that of Gambaryan, fixed May 17 to rule on his request.
Gambaryan, through his counsel, Mark Mordi (SAN), had tried to convince the court why he should be granted bail.
Among others, Mordi contended that his client has been in custody for more than 50 days in a foreign land without visits from family members, and this is hard for him.
He further argued that his client doesn’t pose a flight risk, as stated by the prosecution.
“He can’t go anywhere, they (EFCC) have his passport. Already, being here unable to go meet his family is enough torture.
“The proof of service does not contain one document that incriminates my client. I dare him (complainant) to bring it out; let’s see,” he stated.
The prosecution counsel, Emeka Iheanacho, however, urged the court to not only refuse Gambaryan’s bail request but also transfer him from Kuje prison to EFCC custody to prevent him from escaping.
Iheanacho contended that Gambaryan posed a flight risk just like his counterpart Anjarwalla.
He also told the court that the defendant had attempted to secure a new international passport from the United States of America Embassy in the pretense that his own was missing.
He further told the court that the defendant is a dual citizen of two nationalities; an American and Armenian by birth.
Gambaryan, his company, Binance Holdings Limited, and Anjarwalla, another top executive currently on the run, were arrested and detained by the Federal Government over the alleged involvement of their firm in money laundering to the tune of $35 million.
All three defendants in the suit were accused of having conspired amongst themselves to conceal the origin of the financial proceeds of their alleged unlawful activities in Nigeria
