Binance: Court adjourns $35m money laundering trial

An Abuja Federal High Court on Thursday adjourned a money laundering trial involving Binance and two of its executives to May 13.

Binance, Tigran Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen and head of financial crime and Nadeem Anjarwalla are facing trial for laundering over $35 million.

The suit which was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was supposed to resume today (Thursday), May 2 before it was adjourned.

Anjarwalla, a British Kenyan recently escaped from Nigerian authorities to Kenya.

The court had also adjourned a tax evasion trial against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and the two executives to May 17 after the matter was stalled because the exchange had not been formally served with the charges.

Gambaryan lawyer, Chukwuka Ikuazom objected, arguing that since Binance and its executives were jointly charged, he could not take a plea until the platform, the first defendant in the case, had been served, according to Nigerian law.

Judge Emeka Nwite, therefore, adjourned to May 17 to give a ruling.

Binance, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla face four counts of tax evasion.

The charges include failure to register with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax remittance purposes.

Binance, which was not represented in court and had no immediate comment, said it was working closely with Nigerian authorities following the detention of Gambaryan.

Last week Tuesday, EFCC had urged Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja to deny the bail application of Gambaryan.