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The anticipated arraignment of Tigran Gambaryan, who heads Binance’s Financial Crime Compliance, before Justice Emeka Nwite at the Abuja Federal High Court was postponed until Monday in a court proceeding on Thursday.
Gambaryan, arrested in February, is accused of money laundering involving transactions totalling $35.4 million, violation of foreign exchange regulations and failure to file tax returns.
“April 8 for ruling. If the ruling goes in favour of the EFCC, the defendant will take his plea immediately,” Judge Nwite said after the defendant’s attorney argued that Gambaryan was not an executive of Binance and does not reside in the country to qualify as an agent.
The trial involving Gambaryan has been shrouded with intrigue, especially following a statement from Binance on Wednesday that refutes EFCC’s labelling of Gambaryan as an “executive” within the company.
“Tigran is a strict law enforcement professional and is not part of Binance management,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement made available to the News Digest on Wednesday.
Much of the complexity of this case largely stems from the EFCC and FIRS serving Binance and its executives, based on the argument that Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, held executive positions within the company.
“Binance respectfully requests that Tigran Gambaryan, who has no decision-making power in the company, is not held responsible,” a Binance spokesperson said in a statement made available to the News Digest on Wednesday.
However, with Binance denying Gambaryan’s ‘executive’ status, it leaves Anjarwalla, the Africa Regional Manager for Binance, as the only executive recognised in the suit. Notably, Anjarwalla managed to escape from custody and fled the country using a “smuggled passport.”
Meanwhile, Yuki, Gambaryan’s wife, has penned an open letter to President Tinubu, pleading for the safe return of her husband, whom she maintains is innocent.
“He does not have authority over Binance’s corporate decisions or policies that might have impacted Nigeria,” she wrote in a letter on Thursday.
Where Did It Go Wrong Between Gambaryan and the EFCC?
It would seem paradoxical that a former U.S. Federal Agent, who once specialized in crimes related to terrorism financing, bank secrecy act violations and tax evasion would engage in the very crimes he was trained to prevent.
Knowledge of prior collaboration between Gambaryan and the EFCC now cast a shadow over the current proceedings.
According to Binance, Gamabaryan and his Financial Crime Compliance (team) have a history of extensive collaboration with Nigerian law enforcement, responding to “more than 600 information requests” and assisting the fight against a spectrum of crime.
“The information provided helped tackle crimes ranging from scams and fraud to money laundering, blackmail, kidnapping, and extortion, leading to multiple asset freezes and seizures, totalling more than $400,000,” the statement read.
This past cooperation also includes multiple training sessions for Nigerian crime fighters on the role of exchanges in the digital-asset ecosystem.
“This included a three-hour online workshop for 70 Nigerian EFCC officials in mid-2023 and, late last year, two full-day sessions for EFCC officials in Abuja and Lagos, with more than 30 investigators attending each of them.”
This raises questions about the motivation behind the investigations. Or has Gambaryan truly attempted to outsmart the Federal government?
Broader Impact of Trial on the Nigeria Crypto Industry
Gambaryan’s ongoing trial has forced several conversations on social media, particularly among stakeholders in the Crypto industry.
Henri Arslanian, Author of Book of Crypto, has dismissed the tax charges against Gambaryan as “bogus” and an attempt by the Nigerian government to manage the embarrassment caused by Nadeem’s escape from police custody.
“Tigran needs to be sent back home to be with his wife and kids,” he said, urging numbers to sign a petition against the Nigerian government.
Observers have pointed out that the trial, the longer it drags on, and its eventual outcome could impact global operations and investor confidence.
Considering the relentless scrutiny faced by the crypto industry, which only regained momentum in December 2023, there is a growing concern that the ongoing trial deters potential investors from the Nigerian market due to fears of escalating legal disputes with the Nigerian government and enforcement actions.
Despite the numerous petitions, Leo Schwartz, a journalist specializing in crypto regulations for Fortune Magazine, noted in a Thursday evening tweet that there has been ‘zero movement’ from the U.S. government.
“Gambaryan’s spokesperson told me that his wife, Yuki, has reached out to the U.S embassy, State Department, and senators and received what she described as ‘limited engagement’,” Schwartz wrote on X.