The Federal Inland Revenue Service in Abuja has blamed the Nigerian Correctional Service for failing to produce Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan to the Federal High Court Abuja to plead guilty to tax evasion charges.
Gambaryan was not present for Wednesday’s scheduled arraignment, according to Nairametrics
The FIRS prosecutor, Moses Idehu, informed Justice Emeka Nwite that it was the responsibility of the prison service to bring defendants before a court rather than his
The FIRS has brought criminal proceedings against the crypto exchange platform, over alleged tax evasion
Binance is alleged to have failed to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation, including Value Added Tax and Company Income Tax, as required by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007.
Idehu asked that the case be adjourned to enable him to find out why the prison service was unable to bring the defendant, and said he had been trying to contact the correctional service
He said, “He (Gambaryan) was supposed to have been produced from custody. Unfortunately, we don’t know why he is not here.
“It is their (Nigeria Correctional Service) responsibility to bring the defendant. They have him.
“We are definitely looking at possibly not being able to go on today. We shall take steps to communicate to the Nigerian Correctional Service to produce him on the next adjourned date.”
Counsel for Binance, T.J. Krukrubo SAN, protested the failure of the prosecution to produce his client.
Gambaryan’s lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazo seized the moment to tell the judge to direct FIRS to remove the name of co-defendant, Nadeem Anjarwalla, from the amended charge since he is declared to be “at large.”
FIRS’s lawyer agreed to do what’s required in the case of Anjarwalla’s name on the charge sheet.
Justice Emeka Nwite postponed the arraignment to June 14 following an agreement between the two parties’ legal teams.
Federal authorities accused the cryptocurrency exchange of influencing foreign exchange rates, which led to stricter oversight of crypto trading platforms.
The EFCC is also prosecuting Binance and its executives for alleged money laundering and foreign exchange violations
Nigerian authorities had detained two senior Binance executives, Nadeem Anjarwalla, a 37-year-old British Kenyan, and Tigran Gambaryan, a 39-year-old American, who is the head of financial crime compliance at Binance.
However, Nadeem Anjarwalla is currently at large following his escape from the custody of the Nigerian authorities.
