An executive of Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering filed against him.
Tigran Gambaryan was arraigned on Monday before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He and Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s regional manager for Africa, were detained by Nigerian authorities on February 28.
Anjarwalla managed to escape custody, but both executives, along with Binance, faced charges of tax evasion brought by the federal government.
Gambaryan and Binance are the sole defendants in the money laundering case.
During the previous adjournment, Mark Mordi, Gambaryan’s counsel, objected to the scheduled arraignment, arguing that the first defendant, Binance, had not been served with the court documents.
However, EFCC counsel E.E Iheanacho stated that attempts were made to serve the documents on the first defendant through the second defendant, but Gambaryan declined to accept the service.
In response, Mordi stated that his client couldn’t represent Binance without formal authorization.
After hearing arguments on Monday, the judge ruled that Binance had acknowledged in an affidavit that Gambaryan had previously represented the company in meetings and training sessions held in Nigeria.
The judge deemed the argument of the defendant’s lawyer regarding the absence of an official appointment letter for Gambaryan as the company’s representative as inconsequential.
Subsequently, the judge ruled that serving the charge on the second defendant on behalf of Binance was considered proper service.
The court then proceeded to read the charges to the defendants, to which Gambaryan pleaded not guilty, and a plea of not guilty was also entered for the company.
Justice Emeka Nwite remanded Tigran Gambaryan in Kuje Correctional Centre, pending the determination of his bail application.
KanyiDaily recalls that neither Binance nor Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped from custody, were represented by legal counsel during the proceedings.
