A Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled the arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited, along with two of its officials, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, for Thursday.
The charges, filed separately by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), allege money laundering and tax infractions.
According to the EFCC charge filed on March 28, the defendants are accused of laundering approximately $35.4 million between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja.
They are further charged with engaging in specialized financial activities without a valid license, contravening Sections 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
The FIRS charge, filed on March 22, accuses the defendants of failing to register with the FIRS for tax purposes while offering services to subscribers on the Binance platform.
This offense is alleged to contravene Sections 8 and 29 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act of 1993 and Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007.
Justice Emeka Nwite, presiding over the case, had previously ordered Binance to provide comprehensive data on Nigerian traders using its platform.
This interim order, granted on March 18, followed an ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC, alleging money laundering and terrorism financing activities on the platform.
The EFCC claimed in its affidavit that users on Binance had engaged in activities causing market distortions, leading to the depreciation of the Naira against other currencies. Information provided by Binance indicated a trading volume of $21.6 billion from Nigeria alone in 2023.
Anjarwalla is expected to be arraigned in absentia, as he reportedly escaped from lawful custody on March 22. The arraignment before Justice Nwite underscores the Nigerian authorities’ determination to address financial crimes and tax evasion.
