Binance and its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, have been remanded by a Federal High Court in Abuja. Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged the company and executive, as well as its regional head, with tax evasion and money laundering. In furtherance, they were accused of fleeing and concealing the source of the $35,400,000 generated as revenue by Binance in Nigeria, knowing that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful activity. Following the proceedings, Mordi, in defence of Tigran Gambaryan, insisted that his client could not be arraigned following the failure of the EFCC to perfect service on Binance Holdings Limited. However, E.E. Iheanacho, the legal counsel for the EFCC, asserts that the second defendant represents Binance in the nation; the firm initially levied an allegation against him, but later rejected it.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite upheld the validity of the company’s service in Gambaryan. He ruled that service by a company’s chief agent inside the jurisdiction is required by Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act. According to Justice Nwite, the prosecution just needed to prove that the individual receiving the document was a representative of Binance. Does the second defendant meet the criteria to be considered an agent of Binance?” the judge ruled.
As aforementioned, the second defendant is the duly appointed representative of Binance. The second defendant is bound to receive a summons on behalf of Binance. “The service of the second defendant on behalf of the first defendant is proper. The court should proceed with the arraignment of the defendants.”
Gambaryan entered a not guilty plea on his own behalf and on behalf of Binance after reading the charges. The prosecuting counsel, on the other hand, requested a date for the trial to commence. In response to that, Mordi said, “I am happy to go to trial. But there is a question of the second defendant’s custody. He has been in custody for 40 days. This is a foreign national. There’s nothing more significant than what he is going after here. We are created by God, and the greatest thing anyone can have is freedom.”
The correct location to be after an arrangement, according to Iheanacho, is a penitentiary facility. Nigerians are serving time in American prisons. His incarceration was warranted. They filed a preliminary objection, but the judge rejected it.
Alternatively, Mordi asked the court to maintain his client’s detention by the EFCC. Following this, the judge postponed the matter until April 18 to rule on Gambaryan’s bail motion and May 2 to begin the trial.
By Chidimma NWAFOR
