A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has remanded Binance Holdings
Limited’s executive, Tigran Gambaryan, in Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja,
pending the determination of his bail application.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order after Gambaryan pleaded not guilty to the money laundering charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday.
EFCC arraigned Gambaryan on an
alleged money laundering charge following the dismissal of his objection by the
court.
Gambaryan was arraigned by the EFCC
on a five-count charge before Justice Nwite.
He was arraigned alongside the
company (Binance) and Nadeem Anjarwalla who is now at large.
The anti-graft agency had filed a
money laundering charge against Binance, Gambaryan, and Anjarwalla as 1st to
3rd defendants, respectively.
Anjarwalla was said to have fled
Nigeria after he escaped from custody on March 22.
In the five-count charge dated and
filed on March 28 by EFCC, the defendants were accused of money laundering to
the tune of $35,400,000.
Gambaryan, however, pleaded not
guilty to the counts, while a non-guilty plea was also entered for Binance.
The judge had, last Thursday, fixed
today (Monday) for the ruling on the Binance official’s objection, raised by
his lawyer, Mark Mordi, SAN.
Mordi had disagreed with the EFCC’s
lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho’s application for the charge to be read to Gambaryan.
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Mordi argued that Binance, listed as
1st defendant, ought to have been duly served before Gambaryan could take his
plea.
The lawyer insisted that since it
was a joint charge, the company must be served before his client could be
arraigned.
He said his client was not a
representative of the cryptocurrency firm in Nigeria.
But Iheanacho disagreed with Mordi,
saying since Gambaryan represented Binance in Nigeria and that it is the law
that he can be served on behalf of the firm.
According to him, if the company
does not show up, a non-guilty plea can be entered for it in accordance with
Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
He added that Gambaryan’s statement
attached to the proof of evidence showed that he is an official of Binance in
the country
Delivering the ruling on Monday,
Justice Nwite agreed with Iheanacho’s submission.
The judge, consequently, dismissed
the preliminary objection and ordered him to enter his plea.
While Justice Nwite adjourned his
bail application until April 18, he fixed May 2, 2024, for trial.
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