Arraignment of Binance, Executives by FIRS, EFCC stalled due to non-service

BY ANDREW OROLUA

The planned arraignment of Binance Holdings Limited and two of its executives; Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, on Thursday, could not take place as the defendants were not served with the charges before the court sitting.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed two separate charges against the defendants but didn’t effect service until the matter was called.

When the matter, in charge numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, filed by FIRS was called for the defendants to take their plea before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court, Abuja, only Gambaryan, who is the second defendant, was represented in court by a lawyer.

Neither the company nor Anjarwalla, who recently escaped from lawful custody, was represented by counsel.

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However, Gambaryan’s lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazonu (SAN), told the court that his client had not been served with the charge, hence, his arraignment cannot proceed.

FIRS lawyer, Moses Ideho, who acknowledged that the agency had not served Gambaryan’s with the charge, said all efforts to do so proved abortive because the defendant could not be reached at the EFCC’s detention.

Ideho then prayed the court to serve Gambaryan in the open court and the judge directed that the charge be served on him in the dock.

The lawyer, therefore, sought a stand-down of the matter or an adjournment to enable Gambaryan consult with his lawyer.

Ikwuazonu did not raise any objection to the oral application for adjournment and the court adjourned the matter till April 19 for him to take his plea.

The defendants are being charge on a four-count, bordering on alleged tax evasion.

In the charge, filed on March 22 by the FIRS, the defendants were alleged to have committed the offence on or about February 1.

Count one alleged that while involved in carrying and offering services to subscribers on their platform, known as Binance, failed to register with the FIRS, for the purpose of paying all relevant taxes administered by the service.

The offences are said to be punishable under Sections 8 and 29 of the VAT Act of 1993 (as Amended), Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007 (as amended) and under provisions of Section 94 of the Companies Income Tax Act (as amended) respectively.

In the same vein, the arraignment of the defendants in the five-count charge filed against them by the EFCC could not hold, because of the inability of the prosecution to serve the first defendant with the charge.

The crypto exchange firm, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla are listed as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.in the charge, marked, FHC/ABJ/ CR/ 138/2024.

When the matter was called, Ekele Iheanacho, representing the EFCC prayed that the charge be read to the second defendant, even as he informed the court of the inability to serve the company (the first defendant) with the charge.

Counsel to the second defendant, Mark Mordi (SAN) opposed the arraignment of his client without the first defendant, nor its representative in court, due to lack of service of the charge.

He said the second defendant is not a representative of the first defendant and was not authorized to receive service for the first defendant.

The Senior lawyer urged the court to refuse the arraignment of the second defendant until service of the charge on the first defendant is effected.

In his submission, counsel to the EFCC told the court that, the second defendant is the only agent of the company (First defendant) in Nigeria, who is supposed to accept service of the charge for the company and urged the court to allow him take his plea to the charge.

After hearing submissions of parties in the matter, the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned till April 8, 2024 for ruling on whether to arraign the defendants without effecting service of the charge on the first defendant.

In the charge filed on March 28 by the anti-graft agency, the trio is being accused of money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000.

EFCC alleged in one of the counts that, the defendants, between January 2023 and January 2024 in Abuja, carried out a specialised business of other financial institution without valid licence. The offence is said to be contrary to Section 57(1) and (2) of the Banks and Other Financial, Institutions Act, 2020 and punishable under Section 57(5) of the same Act.

It would be recalled that, Justice Nwite had, on March 18, ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the EFCC with the comprehensive data or information of all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.

The judge granted the interim order after ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the EFCC’s lawyer to enable the anti-graft agency unravel the alleged money laundering and terrorism financing on Binance platform.

The commission said it uncovered users who had been using the platform for price discovery, confirmation and market manipulation which had caused tremendous distortions in the market, resulting in the Naira losing its values against other currencies.