BINANCE: FIRS Case Against Tigran Gambaryan, Others Adjourned To April 19

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of Tigran Gambaryan, an executive of Binance Ltd, by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to April 19, 2024.

Gambaryan was brought before Justice Emeka Nwite by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The FIRS had filed a suit against Binance, Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla, alleging tax evasion.

During the scheduled arraignment, Gambaryan’s lawyer, I. Chukwuka, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, informed the court that his client could not be arraigned because he had not received the FIRS charges.

The FIRS counsel, Moses Idem, acknowledged that the court bailiff had been unable to serve Gambaryan with the charges.

Idem requested permission to serve the executive in open court, which Justice Nwite granted.

However, the FIRS counsel sought an adjournment to allow Gambaryan to consult with his counsel regarding the charges.

Gambaryan’s lawyer concurred with the FIRS counsel’s submission.

After hearing from both parties, the judge adjourned the case to April 19 for Gambaryan to enter his plea in the FIRS case.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, the EFCC has charged Binance and two of its executives with money laundering and foreign exchange violations amounting to $35.4 million.