Nigerian Court Rules Binance Executive can Stand Trial in Tax Evasion Case

On Friday, a Nigerian court decided that Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive, could stand trial for the cryptocurrency exchange in an ongoing tax evasion case, as reported by Reuters. Binance and its executives, including Gambaryan, who is a U.S. citizen and head of financial crimes compliance, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national serving as a regional manager for Africa, face four counts of tax evasion.

Additionally, they are accused of laundering over $35 million and conducting specialized financial activities without a license in a separate case. All parties have pleaded not guilty to the money laundering charges. Following the Nigerian court hearing on Friday, Binance's lawyer and Gambaryan's lawyer declined to comment.

A Binance spokesperson expressed disappointment that Gambaryan, who lacks decision-making authority in the company, remains detained. They described the charges against him as baseless and called for his release while discussions between Binance and Nigerian government officials continue. While Gambaryan remains in custody, Anjarwalla fled the country in March. Nigeria's security adviser's office is collaborating with Interpol to pursue Anjarwalla's arrest.

Binance's CEO criticized Nigeria for what he perceives as setting a perilous precedent, especially after the company's executives were initially invited to the country for talks with authorities before being detained as part of a crypto crackdown.

Notably, Binance itself has not been charged in the tax evasion case by Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which has indicated that Gambaryan could face charges on the exchange's behalf. Gambaryan's lawyer has argued that Gambaryan lacked the authority to represent Binance and had received no written instructions to do so.

Judge Emeka Nwite ruled on Friday that Gambaryan should be served with the charges against Binance because he serves as the chief financial compliance officer of Binance and was duly appointed to represent it in a meeting in Nigeria.

Gambaryan is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Wednesday to enter a plea on behalf of Binance, according to Reuters. However, his bail application in relation to the money laundering case was denied on Friday.

Nigeria has attributed its currency woes to Binance after cryptocurrency platforms emerged as preferred venues for trading the Nigerian naira amidst chronic dollar shortages.