A detained Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan, slumped before the Federal High Court Abuja during a foreign exchange contravention and money laundering trial instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His lawyer, Mark Mordi (SAN) informed the court that Gambaryan had not felt too well since the last date of trial.
Nairametrics previously reported that a director at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Abdulkadir Abbas, had told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the cryptocurrency exchange platform, Binance Limited, used its Naira peer-to-peer (P2P) virtual feature to devalue the Nigerian currency.
Abbas, who identified himself as Director, of Exchanges and Market Infrastructure (SEC), told Justice Emeka Nwite on Friday that the Naira P2P feature deployed by Binance as well as the number of people on the platform “adversely affected the official exchange rate.”
Nairametrics reports that the Nigerian government had accused Binance and its executives, Tygran Gambaryan and the fleeing Nadeem Anjarwalla, of allegedly conspiring amongst themselves to conceal the origin of the financial proceeds of their alleged unlawful activities in Nigeria, including $35,400, 000.
The Nigerian authorities said they committed an offense contrary to Section 21 (a) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The trial commenced last Friday after the judge declined Gambaryan’s bail request.
What transpired in court
When the matter was called by the court registrar, a lawyer assisted Gambaryan to the dock but despite the assistance, the defendant slumped.
Mordi then told Justice Emeka Nwite that he had a letter detailing his client’s health conditions.
He asked the court to adjourn so that the defendant could be given adequate medical attention.
“My lord, the case may not certainly proceed today,” he added.
Counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ekele Iheanacho, did not oppose the call for an adjournment.
Subsequently, the court fixed June 20 and 21 for cross-examination and trial.
More insights
SEC is a Federal Government agency that carries out registration of all capital market stakeholders, instruments to be traded on the market, and all the trading platforms.
In addition, the SEC makes rules and regulations on the capital market, conducts investigations, investigates enforcement as well as monitors the market.
Nairametrics reports that a popular method of buying and selling crypto is through Peer-to-peer, otherwise known as P2P.
The seller and buyer are connected in what can be likened to a marketplace.
Binance and its executives are faced with two separate suits by the FIRS and EFCC; the former bordering on tax evasion while the latter on money laundering and foreign exchange contravention.
Nairametrics recalls that the executives have also instituted a fundamental rights case against agencies of the Nigerian government, citing a violation of their constitutional right to liberty.
On February 28, Nigerian authorities detained two senior Binance executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British-Kenyan who serves as the regional manager for Africa, and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American who is the head of financial crime compliance at Binance.
