Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has raised concerns over the Nigeria Correctional Service's non-appearance in the Federal High Court in Abuja regarding the tax evasion case involving Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan. Gambaryan was notably absent from court on May 22 for his scheduled arraignment on tax evasion charges brought by FIRS, as reported by local media.
During the court session, prosecuting lawyer Moses Idehu expressed uncertainty regarding the detained executive's absence and noted unsuccessful attempts to contact correctional center officials. Idehu requested a stay on the case, seeking a temporary postponement until later in the day. However, Judge Emeka Nwite decided to postpone Gambaryan's arraignment to June 14.
Binance's legal counsel T.J. Kruklubo objected to the prosecution's failure to present their client in court. Meanwhile, Gambaryan's lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazo, took the opportunity to request the removal of co-accused Nadeem Anjarwalla's name from the revised charges, as he has been declared "at large". FIRS lawyers agreed to remove Anjarwalla's name from the chargesheet.
Gambaryan was transferred to Kuye Correctional Center in Abuja in April 2024 after pleading not guilty to money laundering charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Despite his application for bail being denied, he remains in custody. The charges against him pertain to concealing the source of funds generated by Binance in Nigeria, amounting to $35.4 million.
In March, FIRS filed tax evasion charges against Binance and its executives Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, including failure to register with FIRS, failure to pay corporate income tax, failure to pay VAT, and facilitating tax evasion. The Nigerian government's heightened scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges, attributing them to influencing foreign exchange rates, has led to stricter regulations in the cryptocurrency trading sector.
The detention of Anjarwalla, Binance's regional manager for Africa in Kenya, and Gambaryan, a former U.S. federal agent specializing in cryptocurrencies and head of Binance's criminal investigations team, on February 28 further underscored the government's stance on cryptocurrency-related activities.
