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A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive, be held at the Kuje Correctional Centre until his bail application is decided.
The court dismissed Tigran Gambaryan’s claim that he was not a representative of Binance Ltd.
Earlier in the proceedings on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite directed him to enter his plea immediately, both personally and for Binance, which he represents in Nigeria, before the start of the trial.
Gambaryan is to remain in custody until April 18, when the court will rule on his bail application, and the hearing on the main charge is set to begin on May 2.
Last week, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had intended to arraign Binance Ltd, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla at the Federal High Court in Abuja, under case number FHC/ABJ/CR/138/2024.
However, Anjarwalla, who is the Africa Regional Manager of Binance, escaped from custody and fled the country, with the government initiating the process to arrest and extradite him back for trial.
Despite the development, both the EFCC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, slammed separate criminal charges against the duo and the company.
Whereas the anti-graft agency is prosecuting the defendants over their alleged complicity in money laundering, the FIRS accused them of engaging in tax fraud.
When the court resumed last Thursday, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi SAN contended that his client cannot take his plea because refused to accept service on behalf of Binance as he is not authorised to do so.
According to him, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act mandates the antigraft agency to ensure that the company (Binance) would have been served, then the company would appoint a representative in writing and it is only then can service and processes can be served on Binance.
He added, “his client is not an executive of Binance and does not reside in Nigeria to qualify as an agent.
He explained; “The first defendant(Binance) has no physical footprint in Nigeria and does not have an agent in the country. I urge my lord to discountenance the submission of the EFCC and adjourn so that they can effect service on Binance.
“But EFCC counsel, Ekene Iheanacho maintained that though there is no physical presence of Binance in Nigeria, Gambaryan is the cryptocurrency platform’s agent in the country. This defendant is the only agent of Binance in Nigeria and he qualifies to be an agent.”
In his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite held on Monday that Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, states that a person effecting service shall effect same to a chief agent of a company within jurisdiction among others
He said all the prosecution needs to do is to establish that the person being served is an agent of Binance
The judge observed that Gambaryan’s lawyers had deposed in an affidavit along with Nadeem,that they “visited Nigeria for the purpose of attending a meeting with Nigerian government officials on behalf of Binance.
