Binance Executives Set For Arraignment On Money Laundering Thursday

Two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla will be arraigned by the Federal Government on Thursday.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla will be charged before Justice Emeka Nwite of an Abuja Federal High Court on two separate charges.

The one filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which bothers on money laundering, has five counts.

The other charge, filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has four counts, in which they were accused of sundry tax infractions.

The medium gathered that Anjarwalla who escaped custody on March 22 will be arraigned before Justice Nwite in absentia.

In its charge filed on March 28, the EFCC accused Binance executives of laundering about $35,400,000.

The defendants, in count one of the charges, are alleged to have, between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja, carried out the specialised business of other financial institutions without a valid licence.

The EFCC said the act constitutes an offence contrary to Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 and was punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.

In the charge by the FIRS, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024 filed on March 22, the defendants were alleged to have committed the offence on or about February 1 this year.

The defendants are accused in count one of failing to register with the FIRS to pay all relevant taxes while carrying out and offering services to subscribers on their platform (Binance).

According to FIRS, the act constitutes an offence punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act of 1993 (as Amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended) and under provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended).