An official of Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan, has been brought to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.
Gambaryan, who is Binance’s head of financial crime compliance, was escorted to court by heavily armed operatives of the EFCC.
He arrived at the federal high court in Abuja at about 9:19 am wearing a black T-shirt and green pants.
Recall that on February 28, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were detained by the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
However, Anjarwalla escaped from detention in March.
Reports indicate that Mr. Anjarwalla, 38, escaped on Friday, March 22, from the Abuja guest house where he and Gambaryan were detained.
Guards on duty reportedly escorted him to a nearby mosque for prayers, from where he is believed to have flown out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner.
Mr. Anjarwalla is said to have boarded an international flight despite his British passport, with which he entered Nigeria, remaining in the custody of the Nigerian authorities.
Both executives are expected to be arraigned today at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, Binance is charged with neglecting to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service to fulfill its tax obligations.
Additionally, the FIRS claimed that despite offering taxable services to its platform subscribers, Binance failed to provide necessary invoices for calculating and paying value-added taxes.
Gambaryan is the second defendant in the matter.
The Nigerian government has, in recent months, intensified efforts to combat suspected money laundering and terrorism financing, targeting individuals allegedly using the Binance platform for illicit activities.
According to the government, transactions totaling over $21.6 billion were conducted by individuals whose identities were hidden through Binance.
