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Binance Executive Leaves Nigeria After Eight Months In Detention

Binance executive, Tigran Gambaryan left Nigeria on Thursday, October 24, after he was detained for eight months in Kuje Prison.

The Bola Tinubu-led administration had abruptly withdrawn charges against Gambaryan on health grounds and after diplomatic pressures.

Initial charges were brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

While dropping the charges in court on Wednesday, EFCC prosecutor stated, “The government has reviewed the case and, taken into consideration that the second defendant (Mr Gambaryan) is an employee of the first defendant (Binance Holdings Limited), whose status in the matter has more impact than the second defendant’s, and also taking into consideration some critical international and diplomatic reasons, the state seeks to discontinue the case against the second defendant”.

It was gathered that Tigran was allowed to leave Kuje prison last night.

In a statement to journalists on behalf of the Binance executive’s family, it was disclosed that Tigran, a US citizen, left Nigeria to return to his family.

Tigran’s wife Yuki Gambaryan stated: “It is a huge relief that this day has finally come. The past eight months have been a living nightmare. I wish it hadn’t taken this long for his release, or that his health had not declined so much, but we can now focus on healing as a family.

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the US government for their efforts in securing his release. I also want to thank everyone who helped us throughout this ordeal. There were moments I feared this day would never come, but Tigran’s supporters gave me hope and strength.

“The road ahead for Tigran’s recovery is going to be difficult and I appreciate us being given the time and space to focus on that. Our children cannot wait to see their dad again.”

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Court To Hear Money Laundering Case Against Binance Next Week

Allleged money laundering case against crypto exchange Binance and two of its executives will be heard next week.
The case will be heard at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
This is according to a report by Reuters.
The case comes more than a month earlier than planned, after defence lawyers asked for the date change, the prosecutor said on Monday.
The next court hearing, originally scheduled for Oct. 11 has now been fixed for Sept. 2.

Binance and the executives – U.S. citizen and head of financial crime compliance Tigan Gambaryan, and the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla – have been charged with laundering more than $35m.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is also facing accusations of tax evasion.
Both Binance and Gambaryan have denied the charges. Anjarwalla escaped from detention and left Nigeria before the trial started.
Gambaryan has been detained in Nigeria since February and his health has deteriorated in prison, his wife Yuki Gambaryan said this month.
She appealed to the Nigerian government to drop the charges against her husband and release him on health grounds and also asked the U.S. government to help secure his release.
Nigeria has blamed Binance for its currency weakness after cryptocurrency websites became the platforms of choice for trading the Nigerian naira as the country grappled with chronic dollar shortages and its currency fell to a record low.
Binance said in March it would stop all transactions and trading in naira after a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.
It would be recalled that In July, Gambaryan was whisked into the courtroom in a wheelchair.
However, when the matter was called, Gambaryan who was dressed in a black T-shirt with blue jeans trousers, stood up from the wheelchair and walked slowly into the dock.
The EFCC lawyer, Ogechi Ujam, told the court that though the matter was scheduled for the continuation of trial, the commission’s lead counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, was not in court.
Ujam had prayed the court to stand down the matter to enable Iheanacho to conduct the trial.
Lawyer to Binance, Babatunde Fagbohunlu, (SAN), and Mark Mordi, who represented Gambaryan, did not oppose the application.
Justice Emeka Nwite stepped down on the matter.
Justice Emeka Nwite had, on July 5, ordered the management of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to release the medical certificate of Gambaryan on or before July 16.
The judge gave the order following an application by Gambaryan’s lawyer.


Mordi had prayed the court to summon the medical doctor at the health facility of Kuje Correctional Centre, to explain why he had allegedly refused to make available his client’s medical report despite an earlier court order.

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Binance Reacts as FG Drops Tax Charges Against Executives

Crypto exchange platform, Binance has reacted after its officials executives, Tigran Gambaryan, and Nadeem Anjarwalla were discharged of tax evasion charges filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

They were cleared on Friday by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court’s decision came on Friday after the FIRS submitted amended charges that effectively dropped the tax evasion allegations against Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, who absconded to Kenya.
This change followed Binance’s notification of appointing a Nigerian representative, Ayodele Omotilewa, to handle its local operations. The original charges, filed on March 22, 2024, accused Binance and Gambaryan of tax evasion.
In a shared note with The PUNCH, the platform said it was relieved that tax charges against Gambaryan and Anjarwalla have been dropped because they are decision-makers at the company.
The platform said, “We are relieved that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has served and filed amended charges today, resulting in tax charges against Tigran Gambaryan being dropped.
 
“This further illustrates that Tigran is not a decision-maker at Binance and does not need to be held in order for Binance to resolve issues with the Nigerian government. We await the court’s ruling on this, discharging Tigran from this matter completely.”

 
The crypto platform also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to take similar steps, allowing Gambaryan to return home to his family.

It emphasized Gambaryan’s deteriorating health due to 110 days of detention, during which he was diagnosed with malaria and pneumonia.
“We commend the FIRS for their diligence and professionalism throughout this process. This situation unequivocally demonstrates Binance’s commitment to resolving this issue with the government transparently and cooperatively.
 
“In order for Tigran to be allowed to go home to his family, we are hopeful that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will take similar steps.
 
“Tigran has been detained for 110 days, and his physical health is deteriorating, including a recent malaria and pneumonia diagnosis. Binance is committed to continuing to work with the Nigerian government to resolve this,” Binance added.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 19, 2024. where the application for an order for the enforcement of fundamental rights will be heard.
On June 20, the EFCC trial is due to continue, while Tigran will remain detained at Kuje prison.
Since Tigran collapsed in court on May 23rd with Malaria, his health conditions have worsened and Tigran now has pneumonia.
Despite a court order by Justice Emeka Nwite to take Tigran to the hospital immediately, it took the prison authorities 11 days to take him for a brief check-up.
The PUNCH reported last week that 16 US Members of Congress, including the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul wrote to President Biden highlighting that he is a “U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government,” and urging him to do more to secure his release.
Recall the the Federal Government had accused the cryptocurrency exchange of manipulating foreign exchange (FX) rates, which led to increased scrutiny of crypto trading platforms.
Separately, the EFCC is prosecuting Binance and its executives on charges of alleged money laundering and foreign exchange violations.
On February 28, 2024, Nigerian authorities detained two senior Binance executives when they arrived in Nigeria for a meeting following the Federal Government’s ban on cryptocurrency channels, part of a broader campaign against currency speculation.
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Binance CEO Tops 2024 Crypto Billionaires List

The founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao is now crypto’s wealthiest person.
He achieved this for the third year running as Forbes unveils crypto bigwigs.
Popularly known as CZ, Zhao is now worth an estimated $33 billion, up from $10.5 billion last year and the 50th-wealthiest person in the world.
Despite pleading guilty to U.S. money laundering charges in November, Forbes reported that CZ who is now the biggest crypto gainer in dollar terms since last year made a bulk of his fortune from his majority stake in Binance, which remains the industry’s largest global trading venue by volume.
Also, the CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor’s net worth has surged to an estimated $4.4 billion, compared to $760 million the previous year, thanks to MicroStrategy’s heavy investments in Bitcoin.
Similarly, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s net worth hit an estimated $11.2bn, up from $2.2 billion, buoyed by the impressive performance of Coinbase’s shares, which have more than quadrupled over the past 12 months.
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Naira Is Removed From Binance’s Peer-to-Peer Market Due To Nigerian Government Crackdown

The popular cryptocurrency trading site Binance removed the Naira, the currency of Nigeria, from its peer-to-peer feature on Wednesday.

The P2P market functionality enables users, buyers, and sellers to conduct transactions without the involvement of a third party.

Nigerians first learned about it in 2021 when the government of former president Muhammadu Buhari outlawed cryptocurrency trade in the nation.

SaharaReporters discovered that the elimination of their currency has prevented many Nigerian users from using the feature.

Nigerian authorities claimed that Binance’s removal of Naira from its P2P market was a result of the platform’s role in the devaluation of the currency.

Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, said on Wednesday that Binance’s arbitrary foreign exchange rate fixing would ruin the Nigerian economy if it isn’t stopped.

The National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s office detained two Binance employees on Wednesday, according to a report published in the Financial Times. The detentions were a result of an inquiry into the cryptocurrency exchange’s activities in Nigeria.

By cracking down on bitcoin exchanges, their imprisonment in Nigeria was an attempt to stop naira speculation and stabilize its wild decline.